I'm Gonna Love You Through It
by jrs328
Summary: AU: This is a Leyton story… One of sadness and angst and maybe happiness at the end. It's based on a song I heard on the radio today. Lucas and Peyton are married with 3 children. They live in Tree Hill all the characters are the same. More inside.
1. Chapter 1

I'm Gonna Love You Through It

AU: This is a Leyton story… One of sadness and angst and maybe happiness at the end. It's based on a song I heard on the radio today. Lucas and Peyton are married with 3 children. They live in Tree Hill all the characters are the same. Sawyer and Jamie are the same age in this story and Jude and Davis are the same age as Peyton and Lucas' second daughter Ellie. Nathan and Haley are married and only have Jamie. Haley's a teacher and Nathan's in the NBA. Peyton and Brooke are stay at home moms while Lucas is a high school teacher and coach and Julian is a film maker. Everything else will come out in the story… I hope… Please read to see what's going to happen.

Chapter 1

"Come on, you guys" Peyton yells from the bottom of the stairs "You're going to miss the bus"

Three blonde haired children come running down the stairs. Two little girls trailed by a little boy.

"Mama" the little boy says "I want to go to school too"

Peyton laughs at him "Baby, you can't just yet but soon you will." She says "Sawyer, remember that your dad is picking you two up this afternoon and Ellie tell your teacher we will make 5 dozen cookies for the bake sale next week"

"Thanks, mama" Ellie says hugging her tightly.

Peyton hugs her daughter back and then hugs her other daughter.

"I love you, mama" Sawyer says smiling at her

"I love you too" Ellie says

"I love you both" Peyton says handing them their lunches

The two kids run out the door and to the end of the driveway. Peyton stands in the window and watches them until the bus picks them up. They don't want her waiting at the bus stop with them but she couldn't turn her back until they were on the bus. She just didn't want anything to happen to her babies.

She and Lucas had been high school sweethearts. They dated all through high school and got married the summer after graduation. They had their first daughter, Sawyer Brooke Scott, before their one year anniversary. She looked just like her mother. She had curly blonde hair and the greenest eyes they'd ever seen. Sawyer had just turned 8 and was in the 3rd grade. She loved art and music. She wasn't much into reading, math or science but loved art class and free time when she could draw. She was her mother through and through.

Then two years later they had another baby girl, Elizabeth Anna Scott. She was Lucas all the way. She was into books and basketball and looked like him with her straight blonde hair and blue eyes. She was a daddy's girl. Ellie is six and she is in the first grade.

Three years later Emery Lucas Scott was born. He is 3 years old and a perfect blend between his mother and his father. He has curly blonde hair and blue eyes. He likes to draw sometimes but play basketball at other times. He was a mama's boy and followed her everywhere. It made Lucas laugh.

Peyton walks into the kitchen with her little shadow behind her.

"what would you like to do today?" Peyton asks Emery as she clears away the breakfast dishes

"Can we go to the park?"

"Sure" Peyton says

"Can we call Aunt Brooke and see Jackie can go with us?"

"Sure" Peyton says smiling at the little boy "How about I pack a picnic lunch too?"

"Really?" The little boy says with a smile on his face

"Really" Peyton says smiling "Go get ready and I'll call Aunt Brooke"

Emery runs up the stairs and Peyton picks up her phone. She dials a number and waits.

"_Hello" a voice says on the other side of the phone_

"Brooke, it's Peyton" She says wondering why Brooke didn't look at the call id

"_Oh hey Peyton. Sorry I was in the bathroom and Jackie had my phone and wouldn't bring it to me"_

Peyton starts laughing

"_It's not funny"_

"I'm sorry" Peyton says "Emery and I are heading to the park and were wondering if you and Jackie wanted to join us"

"_Sure!" Brooke says excitedly "I'd love to get out of this house today"_

"Ok, how about we pick you up in 15. I'm packing a picnic right now"

"_We'll be ready" Brooke says hanging up_

Emery walks into the kitchen "I'm ready, mama" he says smiling at her

"Great baby let's go" Peyton says grabbing the picnic basket and walking out of the house. She straps Emery into the car and heads for Brooke's. She pulls in the driveway and a very pregnant Brooke comes walking out of the house with Jackie in tow. Peyton jumps out and grabs the little girl from her mother.

"Hey Aunt Peyt" The little girl says hugging and kissing her

"Hey baby" Peyton says hugging the little girl back "How are you feeling?" she asks Brooke

"Like shit" Brooke says "And Julian is in LA so if my water breaks I'm on my own"

"No, you're not" Peyton says strapping the little girl in a car seat "I already told you I'd go to the hospital with you"

"And what am I supposed to do with Jude, Davis and Jackie"

"I'm sure Lucas with keep them or Haley"

"Yea like Haley can keep them with her kids and Lucas with your kids"

"It will be fine" Peyton says "Chill out"

Brooke sighs "I'm just scared." She says "Julian's movie is taking a lot longer than I expected and we already have three kids and one more on the way and I'm tired. Peyton I am so tired. How do you do it every day and not get so tired?"

"I'm tired too, Brooke" Peyton says "I should be at home doing laundry and putting something together for dinner or making the 5 dozen cookies I signed up to make for the bake sale but I'll do all of that after my kids are in bed and while Lucas writing. Being a stay at home mom is really hard. I don't know how Haley does it with working"

"She has a nanny and a housekeeper" Brooke sighs "That's what happens when you're married to an NBA star. She's the only one of us who should be a stay at home mom. Plus she only had Jamie"

"I know" Peyton says "But I chose to stay at home with my kids and I love every minute of it."

"Oh me too" Brooke says "I'm just stressed because Julian's gone and what about this bake sale? Jude and Davis didn't say anything about it"

"The first grade is having a bake sale next week"

"Oh man" she sighs "I guess I have to bake something"

Peyton starts laughing

"What's funny about that?" Brooke hisses

"Um, the last time you baked something you had to stay at my house for 2 days until the smoke cleared"

"I can bake" Brooke says "I fell asleep that day"

Peyton laughs

"Peyt, stop laughing at me"

Peyton smiles at her "I can bake extra cookies for you"

"Yea like you need that stress"

"I'm not stressed, B" Peyton says pulling into the park "I don't mind. I stay up while Lucas writes any way and he's on a roll right now so I'm up pretty much all night"

"How do you do it?"

"I don't know" Peyton replies "I just do. Don't worry I'll make one kind of Ellie, one for Jude, and one for Davis. Everything will be fine"

"Thanks, P" Brooke says getting out of the car

Emery and Jackie take off running towards the sandbox and Peyton and Brooke sit on the bench.

"They're going to get married" Brooke says smiling at them "They are so close"

"They are close" Peyton says "Emery loves her so much. He wants to play with her every day"

"Jackie's the same way"

"Which one of my boys is Miss Ellie going to marry?"

"Neither" Peyton says "She's going to the WNBA and not having kids. She was mad when Lucas told her that girls couldn't play in the NBA because she wanted to be just like her Uncle Nathan"

"That's Ellie!" Brooke smiles rubbing her belly

"You ok?"

"I'm just uncomfortable and the baby is pushing on my ribs and I just hurt"

"Why don't you go home and take a nap?" Peyton offers "I can handle the kids for a while"

"how will you get home?"

"We'll walk"

Brooke sighs "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive" Peyton replies "And you and the kids will have dinner with us tonight"

"Peyton"

"It's no problem" Peyton says with a smiles

Brooke hugs her "You're the best"

Peyton just hugs her back and then Brooke gets up and leaves. Jackie runs over to Peyton.

"Where'd my mommy go?"

"She went home to take a nap"

"That's good" Jackie says smiling "She's in a bad mood today"

"She's just tried because she's going to have a baby soon"

"I know" Jackie says "That's all we talk about is that baby. I miss daddy. When is he going to be home?"

"I don't know sweetie"

"Are we coming over to your house tonight?" Jackie asks "I like coming to your house"

"You can come over to my house any time" Peyton says hugging the little girl "Now go ahead and play with Emery and we'll eat in a little while"

"Ok, thanks Aunt Peyton" Jackie says hugging Peyton again

Jackie runs away and Peyton watches them. She feels her phone buzz in her pocket and she pulls it out.

_Hope you're having a great day, baby. I miss you. See you at dinner tonight. Love ya._

Peyton smiles at the text from her husband. She loved that he texted her every day on his lunch.

_Love you too baby. At the park with Emery and Jackie. Brooke's having a hard day. They'll be over for dinner. See you tonight._

Peyton watches as the two kids play and after a few more minutes Emery comes running over to her.

"Mama, we're hungry" he says and Peyton smiles at him

"Ok, let's find a place where we can spread out our blanket and eat" Peyton replies getting up and grabbing the picnic blanket.

The two kids take off running and find a perfect spot under a tree. Peyton follows them over there and spreads out the blanket. The two kids sit down and Peyton gets out their lunches.

"I love how you cut the sandwiches into different shapes, Aunt Peyton. That's so cool"

"I'm glad you like them" Peyton says

"Mama cuts my toast like that too" Emery says "She's the best because she always does nice things for me"

Peyton smiles at him "That's because you're my baby and I love you"

"You do nice things for my sissies too"

"That's because I love them too"

"You're nice to me too" Jackie says

"Guess what I love you too"

The kids smile and eat their lunch. Peyton looks at her watch.

"When we get down eating we should head home"

"Ok mama" Emery says

"Can I stay with you?" Jackie asks

"Yes, you are going to stay until dinner"

"Great!"

The three finish and Peyton picks up the lunch stuff. Then she holds the two kids hands and they walk towards Peyton and Lucas' house that wasn't that far away. They enter the house and the kids take off running. Peyton puts everything away and then she starts on dinner.

"Mama, can we lay in your bed and watch a movie?"

"Sure baby" Peyton says walking out of the kitchen and towards her bedroom. She puts a movie on for the two kids knowing they're going to fall asleep.

She goes back into the kitchen and is making lasagna, salad and garlic bread. Once that's done she goes and does laundry, cleans up the kids rooms, changes the sheets on the bed and all the other house work she does. She has a system. Every day of the week she has a routine and she does something different.

She prides herself on keeping her house tidy and her husband and children happy. She could have had a career and been something more than a house wife but this was the life she chose and she enjoyed it. She loved her family and she'd do anything for them.

Before she knew it the front door was opening and screaming children were running in.

"Mom, where are you?" Sawyer yells from the kitchen

Peyton walks in from the laundry room "What's up, kiddo?" She says pulling out the tray of fruit and veggies she had cut up for the kids for an after school snack.

"My painting won" Sawyer yells "It won the school competition and is going to the county competition next"

"Really?" Peyton says smiling "I told you it was good"

"I know" Sawyer says hugging her mom "Thank you for your support!" she says taking some cheese and grapes off the tray. I have a science test tomorrow will you help me study?"

"Of course" Peyton says "We'll study after dinner. Do you have any other homework?"

"Yes, some math and I have to read my book too"

"Ok" Peyton says "well you can have a half hour before you start your homework"

"Thanks mom" Sawyer says hugging her mom again and running to her room. She never spent her time between school and homework watching TV she always spent it drawing.

"Mama" Ellie says sitting at the countertop bar

"What's wrong baby" Peyton says walking over to her younger daughter who looked said

"I got yelled at today"

"Oh no" Peyton says "What happened?"

"I was talking during the story and the teacher maybe me change my card"

Peyton sighs "Ellie" she says looking at her "You know you're supposed to be quiet when the teacher is talking."

"I know mama but Billy said that the Bobcats are a bad team and I told him that he was wrong and we were arguing about it. The Bobcats and the best NBA time because Uncle Nate is the point guard. Billy's wrong, mama and I had to tell him he was"

"I understand that, sweetie but you can't do that when the teacher is talking. You know better than that."

Ellie sighs "I'm sorry mama" she says looking down at the counter "Am I in trouble?"

"No" Peyton sighs "This is your warning though. If it happens again you'll be in trouble"

"Ok" Ellie says "can I go watch TV?"

"Do you have any homework?"

"Just practice my spelling words and read with you or daddy"

"Then you can watch TV for a little while"

"Thanks" Ellie says taking some snack off the tray and heading into the living room.

Lucas walks in carrying the mail "Hey babe" he says walking over and kissing Peyton on the mouth and grabbing her ass a little.

"Lucas" she says turning red "How was your day?"

"Long" Lucas sighs "My English class is full of little shits and I'm having a hard time with them."

"Work your magic baby like you always do and everything will fall into place"

"Thanks" Lucas says smiling

"How was practice?"

"That was good. The team is looking really great"

"That's great!" Peyton says smiling at him "I can't wait for the first game Friday night"

"Me either" Lucas says kissing her again "Did Ellie tell you about her day?"

"Yes" Peyton says "And how do you get mad at her for defending her family?"

"That's what I thought but I told her it would be up to you if she would get punishment"

"I let her off with a warning"

"Good wife"

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling "Did Sawyer tell you her good news?"

"Yes" Lucas says "I'm so proud of her"

"Me too"

"How was your day?" Lucas asks getting a bottle of water and sitting down and the counter eating the snack Peyton laid out for the kids

"It was good" Peyton says "Did some house work, took Emery and Jackie to the park and made dinner. We had a good time"

"How's Brooke?"

"Tired and in some pain and really stressed out"

"I hope Julian comes home soon"

"Me too" Peyton sighs "Me too"

She walks over and kisses Lucas. Lucas kisses her back hard.

"Mom" Sawyer says walking into the kitchen

Lucas and Peyton pulls away from each other.

"What's up honey?" Peyton says as Lucas gets up

"I wanted to show you what I'm working on"

"Great" Peyton says taking the sketch pad from Sawyer "Wow!" she says looking at the sketch. It was of Ellie playing basketball. It looked just like her it was perfect.

"You like it?" Sawyer says

"I love it, baby. You did a great job"

"Thanks mama" she says hugging her "I have some more too but they're not done yet. I will show you when I'm done"

"Sounds great!" Peyton says "Why don't you go and get your math and I'll help you before Aunt Brooke and the kids get here"

"Thanks" Sawyer says running and grabbing her book.

Peyton and Sawyer sit and the counter and Peyton helps her daughter when she needs it. Lucas is outside playing with Ellie, Emery and Jackie who had woke up from their nap.

"Do you want to go out and play?" Peyton says "We can finish this after dinner"

"No" Sawyer says "I like being in here when it's quiet and being with you"

Peyton smiles at her and gives her a hug. "Want to help me set the table?"

"Sure" Sawyer says smiling

Peyton and Sawyer talk while they set the table. Peyton tries to spend a little time each day with each of her children alone. Emery was easy because he was home all day long but she found herself spending a lot of time at night with Sawyer. She hoped Ellie didn't feel bad but she liked to be outside with her daddy.

"Mama" Emery calls from the door

"Yes, baby" Peyton says

"Aunt Brooke is here"

"Great!" Peyton says

Everyone comes in and Peyton pulls dinner out of the oven.

"Everyone wash up and we'll eat"

The kids walk into the bathroom and wash their hands. Lucas washes his hands in the kitchen sink. The kids sit up at the counter and the kitchen table. Peyton dishes out lasagna, salad and bread to everyone. Then she gets everyone a drink and she finally sits down and starts eating her own dinner.

"This is great" Brooke says "Thanks for inviting us to dinner"

"You're welcome" Peyton says

"Are you ready for Friday?" Brooke asks Lucas

"We are" Lucas says "You coming?"

"I don't know" Brooke replies "It will depend on how I'm feeling"

"Sounds good"

Lucas' cell phone rings and he looks at it. Peyton looks at him

"Not during dinner, Luke" she says smiling at him "House rule!"

Lucas puts the phone back in his pocket. Peyton had one rule that dinner time was for talking. If it was an emergency they could call their house and leave a message to pick up. Everyone knew this was Peyton's rule and most people didn't call.

"Daddy" Ellie says from the counter

"What baby girl?"

"After dinner can we go to the Rivercourt and play basketball?"

"If it's ok with your mama"

"Mama?" Ellie asks

"When are you going to study your spelling words and read?"

"I can study my words on the way and you always read to me before I go to bed"

Peyton smiles "Then you can go but only for an hour because you have to take a shower and study your words one time with me so I can make sure you practice"

"Thanks mama!" Ellie says jumping down and hugging her

Everyone continues to talk and eat. They finish and Lucas takes the kids to the Rivercourt while Peyton cleans up. She then works with Sawyer on her science and reads her a chapter in her book. Sawyer wasn't into the Rivercourt so she stayed with Peyton. She was a mama's girl but wouldn't admit it.

When everyone returned Brooke loaded her crew up and headed home. Peyton practiced Ellie's spelling word with her and then gave her a shower. While Peyton was reading to Ellie Sawyer took a shower and got ready for bed. Peyton tucked both girls in and then gave Emery a quick bath and put him to bed.

Once all the kids were in bed she went downstairs and unloaded the dishwasher. She put everything away and swept the floor. Lucas was in the den working so she heads in there to check on him.

"Do you need anything?" Peyton asks

"Is there any coffee?" he asks smiling

Peyton smiles back "I'll put some on and then I'm going to go soak in the bathtub"

"Thanks babe" Lucas says smiling at him

She walks into the kitchen and makes coffee. She takes a cup to Lucas and her own cup up to their bathroom. She lights some candles, turns on some music and fills the bathtub with hot water and bubbles. She sinks into the tub and is relaxing.

As she's laying in the bathtub she looks at the little reminder handing from the closet door. It told her that it was time for her self breast exam. She raises her hand over her head. Her hand stops when she feels a lump that she hadn't felt before. She sits up and runs her hand again over the same spot and concludes that there is definitely a lump. She finishes and finds three more lumps in the same breast. She sighs as panic runs over her. She would have to call the doctor in the morning. Her mind assumes the worst. She didn't have time to be sick… She had too much to be responsible for she just couldn't be sick.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thanks for the reviews. LEYTONALWAYS and OTH6969 I started this story as I was taking my shift last night taking care of my father who is losing his battle to cancer. I guess it's an outlet for what I'm going through. I hope I do it justice.

Chapter 2

Peyton walks up to the door of Nathan and Haley's house. She knew Nathan was home but he didn't answer his phone. She sighs as she knocks on the door. She waits for a few minutes and finally Nathan opens it.

"Hey Peyt" He says towel drying his hair

"Hey" Peyton says

"What brings you by?"

"I tried calling you but you didn't answer and I need a favor"

"Oh, I'm sorry" Nathan says "I was working out then in the shower. What's up?"

"I have to run a few errands this morning and I was wondering if you could keep Emery. I would ask Brooke but she's a little stressed out and I don't want to drag him with me"

Nathan smiles "Of course Emery can stay with me" he answers "I haven't hung out with my little buddy in a long time"

"Can we play video games?" Emery asks walking in

"Sure, whatever you want" Nathan says

"I shouldn't be too long" Peyton says distractedly

Nathan notices "Is everything ok?"

"Yes" Peyton says putting on her fake smile "I'm just in a hurry and I'm trying to remember everything I have to do today"

"Ok" Nathan says

"Thanks a lot, Nate"

"Any time, Peyt" he says knowing that something was going on with his friend because she never had a hard time remember anything and she never tried to rush off when she saw him

"I'll see you later, baby" She says hugging Emery "Thanks again Nate"

Peyton turns and leaves and gets into her car. It had been a week since she found the lumps in her breast. The longest week of her life. She didn't tell Lucas or Brooke, or Haley. She knew they would all worry and until she knew anything she didn't see the since in worrying them. She wished she didn't have to wait a week to see the doctor but that was as soon as they could get her in. She thought about what having cancer would mean. She thought how it would affect her and her family. She knew Lucas would be strong but the kids. What would she do about her kids? They needed her.

She pulls into the parking lot and parks her car. She walks into the office and signs in. She sits in a chair and her phone buzzes.

_Hey baby. I hope you and Emery are having a great day. Thanks for all your support with the team. I love you and can't wait to see you tonight._

Peyton smiles when she reads the text from her husband. She sighs as she types a text back.

_Love you too_

She goes to put her phone away but it buzzes

_What's wrong?_

She sighs

_Nothing_

She hopes he leaves it at that

_I text you every day and you never just say Love you too. You always tell me what you and Emery are doing. Something's wrong… spill_

She knows she can't just say nothing. He's right and he knows something's up

_I'm at the doctor. We'll talk tonight_

She waits for a response because she knows he's going to have one

_WHAT? Why are you at the doctor? What in the hell is going on? Are you ok? Why didn't you tell me? What doctor? I'll leave work now and meet you there_

Peyton closes her eyes. She wishes he was there. She was so scared. She didn't realize it until right now. Why didn't she tell him? She's pulled out of her thoughts by the ringing of her phone

"Hello, Luke" she says sighing

"_Where are you?" he says through the phone_

"I'm at Dr. Stevens' office"

"_Are you pregnant?" Lucas asks_

"I wish that was all it was"

"_I'm on my way" Lucas says hanging up the phone_

Peyton knew the high school was 15 minutes from the doctor's office and she knew she was a half hour early for her appointment and the place was packed so she'd be waiting the whole time. She was relieved and nervous about Lucas coming.

She picks up a magazine on parenting and starts reading it. She keeps looking at her watch and wondering when Lucas would be there. She reads all the articles in the magazine and went to pick up another one when she sees Lucas walk through the door. He rushes over to her and sits down next to her grabbing her and hugging her as tightly as he can.

He lets her go and looks at her "What's wrong?" he asks and the tears start cascading down Peyton's face

"I found some lumps" she says trying to chock back the tears but failing

"Ok" Lucas sighs "Where?"

"In my breast and arm pit"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry"

"Peyton" Lucas says hugging her again "This isn't something you do on your own, honey. You have me to lean on and I'm here for you. Baby, you don't ever have to keep things from me."

Peyton just cries and he holds her.

"It's going to be ok baby" Lucas sighs "It's going to be ok"

"What if it's not?"

"We'll beat this baby. We'll do it together. I'll take care of you. I'll hold your hair when you have to throw up baby. I'm going to be by your side through it all. I'm gonna love you through it"

Peyton hugs Lucas "I love you"

"I love you too"

The door opens and a nurse is standing there "Peyton Scott"

Peyton stands up and Lucas grabs her hand. They walk to the door.

"Hi, I'm Molli" she says smiling

"Peyton and this is my husband Lucas"

"Nice to meet you" Molli says smiling "Dr. Stevens wants me to do a screening mammogram before he sees you."

"Ok, what's that?" Peyton says

"It's a mammogram done to check the breasts for any early signs of breast cancer. It will tell us a little about the lumps. If the doctor sees they are something to be concerned about then we'll do a diagnostic mammogram and it will take more in-depth pictures.

"Ok" Peyton answers

"Your husband can wait in those chairs over there if you'd like"

"Can I go in with her?"

"Sure but there will be some x-ray exposure"

"I don't care" Lucas says "I'm not going to leave her side"

"I understand that" Molli says leading Peyton into a room. She hands her a pink gown and a wet wipe "You need to take everything off from the waist up and wipe the deodorant off your armpits. Then just knock on the door and I'll come back and get you"

"Ok" Peyton says

Molli walks out and Peyton's hands are shaking. Lucas helps her unbutton her top and undo her bra then he wipes her armpits clean. He's shaking inside more than she is but he doesn't show it. He just stands there as strong and he could and helps his wife. He gets the gown on her and then knocks on the door.

Molli enters again "Ok are you ready?"

"I guess" Peyton says

They walk down a hallway and Lucas holds her hand the whole time. He smiles at her.

"Lucas you'll have to wait behind the glass"

"Ok" Lucas says

"Peyton, have you ever had a mammogram before?"

"No, I'm only 27"

Molli smiles at her "It's going to be ok"

Peyton just sighs

"It's going to hurt a little because I have to put your whole breast in this machine"

Peyton looks down and laughs "You're going to get those tiny things in that machine?"

"Yes, I am" Molli says

Molli positions Peyton's breast and starts to lower the machine. It pulls her into it but Peyton stays still. Molli hits the button and takes the x-ray. She then goes over and positions the other breast and takes an x-ray of that one as well.

"Ok" Molli says smiling "We'll have the results of these as soon as we can and find out what they're telling us. The doctor is marking them stat so you don't have to wait to find out what our next course of action will be."

"Thanks" Peyton says as she sits on the examining table

Lucas pulls the chair over next to her and holds her hand.

It dawns on Peyton "Um, Luke, who is teaching your classes?"

"Principal Turner" Lucas replies "I told him you needed me and I had to leave. I told him something was wrong and you were sick. He told me to go ahead and he'd cover my classes the rest of the day and Skillz is going to handle practice"

Peyton sighs "You don't have to stay with me once we're done here"

"Yes, I do" Lucas says "We don't know what we're going to find out"

Peyton looks away from him and he can tell something's on her mind "What's wrong?"

"I'm just scared" she sighs

"It's going to be ok baby" Lucas says kissing her hand "You're not alone and I'm going to be here with you no matter what for every phase of this and we're going to do it together."

Peyton kisses him softly and Dr. Stevens walks in holding her x-rays

"I wish I were here to find out I was pregnant" Peyton says with a half hearted smile

"Me too" Dr. Stevens says "Hi Lucas" he offers Lucas his hand to shake.

Lucas takes it and shakes it "So, what's wrong with my wife?"

Dr. Stevens sighs. He puts the x-rays up to the light and turns it on.

"See these masses here in Peyton's left breast?" he says circling the masses

"Yes" Lucas and Peyton both say

"Those are what she's feeling" he says "See these masses here?" he says circling some up higher

"Yes" they say again

"Those are smaller and just starting to form so you probably don't feel those yet"

"No, I don't" Peyton says frowning

"Well I'm not going to speculate that it's anything because this x-ray doesn't tell us that. All it tells us is that you have masses in your breasts that are forming and need to be further investigated."

Lucas sighs "So what are we going to do next?"

"There are a lot of tests I can run but the best thing to do is just biopsy the masses and run some blood work"

"Ok" Peyton says

"I want to examine you before we talk about biopsy options"

"Ok" Peyton says that's all she can say

She lays down and raises her hand over her head. The doctor examines her left breast. He can feel the lower lumps but not the higher ones. He wants to biopsy them all but that will be a lot of needle pokes. He helps her sit up.

"I'd like to biopsy both areas" he says" This will give us a better idea of what we're dealing with and depending on the results I may be referring you to an oncologist. I have a friend, Dr. Jenkins who specializes in breast cancer. Dr. Jenkins is a female doctor and she is a breast cancer survivor"

"That sounds like a good plan" Peyton says

"But I don't want to put the cart before the horse because we don't know what these masses are yet. Let's talk about biopsy options."

"Ok" Peyton answers

"The best option is the Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy, FNA for short. This is the least invasive method and it usually doesn't leave a scar. You'll lay face down and you'll receive a local anesthesia. Then a small needle with a hollow center is inserted right into the lump and a sample of cells is removed from the suspicious area. We can do this on the lower area. For the upper area we can use an ultrasound-guided biopsy. This is the same procedure as the FNA but we use an ultrasound machine to guide the needle. This way we can get samples from both areas. There are other methods but these are the least invasive which I think are best for you"

"Ok" Peyton says "We'll do that" she looks at Lucas "Is that ok?"

"Yes, honey" He says squeezing her hand "We'll do whatever you want"

"I want to be able to go home and the kids not know that anything happened so the least invasive is best."

"Ok" Dr. Stevens says "The nurse can book you an appointment for tomorrow if that works for you?"

"It does" Peyton sighs "I'll just have to find a sitter for Emery"

"Don't worry about that" Lucas says "We'll figure something out"

"Ok" Peyton says

"After you have the biopsy it will take a few days to a week for the pathologist to get us a pathology report describing what kind of cells are in those masses"

"Ok" Peyton says

"Once we figure that out we'll decide what course of action we need to take. Hopefully, they're just fibrous but if they're not we can either just treat the breast cancer or we can do a PET scan and see if it's metastasized to other areas"

"What does all that mean?" Lucas asks

"Let's just take one step at a time" Dr. Stevens says "Let's get the biopsy done tomorrow and wait for the pathology report. Then we'll go from there"

"Ok" Was all Peyton could say

"I'm so sorry you have to go through this" Dr. Stevens says "You're so young but just stay positive until we know what's going on"

"I'll try" Peyton sighs

"You can go ahead and get dressed and a nurse will be in to schedule your appointment for tomorrow"

"Ok" Peyton says again

Dr. Stevens walks out of the room and Peyton takes a deep breath. Lucas looks at her.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine" Peyton says with a fake smile on her face "Let's focus on the positive like Dr. Stevens says until we know what's going on"

"Ok" Lucas says. That's all he could say. Peyton was being strong and he was going to support her.

"I need my bra and top"

Lucas grabs it off the hook on the wall and hands it to her. She puts it back on and there's a knock at the door.

"Come in" Peyton says

Molli walks in the room with a computer "Dr. Stevens says we're scheduling a biopsy for tomorrow"

"That's correct" Peyton says

"Ok" Molli answers "It looks like Dr. Silver has an available appointment at 3 pm tomorrow. Can you make that?"

"Um" Peyton says "I don't know. The kids get off the bus at 3:30 who will be there for them? I'm always there for them" she says worried

"3 pm is fine" Lucas says "I'll take care of all of that, honey. We need to get this done"

"Ok" Peyton says

"You'll need to be here tomorrow at 1:15 and check in on the surgical floor which is the second floor."

"Ok" Peyton says

"Here's the paperwork" Molli says handing it to her from the printer in the corner

"Thank you" Peyton says taking it

"No problem and we'll call you as soon as the results come in"

"Thanks" Peyton says again

Lucas and Peyton walk out of the office and ride the elevator down to the lobby and walk out of the building.

"Where's Emery?" Lucas asks softly

"He's with Nathan" Peyton answers

"I'll go pick him up" Lucas says "Why don't you go home and rest"

"I'm not tired"

"Peyt" Lucas sighs "You've been through a lot today so you need to just relax and let everything soak in"

Peyton just nods her head and Lucas walks over and hugs and kisses her.

"I love you" He says softly

"I love you too" she replies walking towards her car.

She sits behind the wheel and cries. Lucas is mirroring her actions in his car. He pulls himself together and heads towards Nathan's house. He pulls in and walks into the house.

"Nathan" he yells

"In here man" Nathan yells from the back room

Lucas walks in and sees Emery and Nathan playing video games. Nathan looks at him.

"Is everything ok man?"

"Yea" Lucas sighs "I just came to pick up Emery"

"Why aren't you at work?"

"I had a meeting so I have the rest of the day off" Lucas says. He didn't know if Peyton wanted people to know so he wasn't going to say anything until she was ready

"Oh" Nathan says knowing that something was up "Where's Peyton?"

"She's out and she asked me to come get Emery"

"Ok" Nathan says "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Yea, I know" Lucas says "Come on, Emery. We need to get home buddy"

"Ok" Emery says getting up "Thanks Uncle Nate" he says hugging him

"You're welcome" Nathan says

"Hey can you watch him tomorrow and pick the girls up from school?"

"Sure" Nathan says looking at Lucas funny but just letting it go. "I'll pick Jamie up too and you guys should just stay for dinner then"

"Ok, we'll see" Lucas says "Thank you"

"No problem! See you tomorrow"

Lucas walks out of the house carrying Emery and puts him in his car seat. He then drives home and carries him into the house.

"You need to be quiet buddy mama's sleeping"

"Ok" Emery says "Can I go lay down with her?"

Lucas smiles at him "Sure" he says

They both walk into the bedroom where Peyton is laying in bed reading a book.

"I thought mama was sleeping?" Emery says looking at his daddy

"Me too" Lucas says looking at Peyton

"I was waiting for my guys to get home" She says smiling "Did you have fun with Uncle Nate?"

"Yes" Emery says "We played video games all day"

"Oh that sounds fun" Peyton says smiling at him "Did you eat lunch?"

"No" Emery says "Uncle Nate didn't have anything I liked"

Peyton laughs "Well come on then" she says getting up "Let's go have some lunch"

"Can we eat outside?" Emery asks

"No" Lucas says "And I'll make him some lunch"

Emery looks at his daddy "Mama and I always make lunch together and sometimes we eat on the table out back. Why can't we do that today?"

Peyton walks over and picks Emery up. "We will make lunch together buddy but let's eat it at the counter today"

"Ok" Emery says as Peyton walks out of the room and Lucas follows.

"What do you want today, buddy?" Peyton asks

"How about spaghetti-o's?"

"Sounds like a plan"

Peyton gets out a pan and a can of spaghetti-o's. She opens the can and gets out the bread and butter. She also gets out the turkey and fixing for sandwiches. She slices up some apples and puts carrots on a plate with a piece of bread and butter.

"Want a sandwich?" She asks Lucas

"Sure, that would be nice" Lucas says smiling at her

While the spaghetti-o's are cooking she makes two sandwiches and grabs a bag of chips out of the cupboard.

"Can I have some chips too?" Emery asks smiling at his mother with his huge grin

"Of course" Peyton says putting some on his plate

She dishes him out some spaghetti-o's and then puts Lucas' plate next to Emery. She stands on the other side of the counter.

"Why don't you sit down?" Lucas asks

"I'm fine, honey" She says giving him and look that tells him to settle down

He sighs.

"How about we go out to dinner tonight?" Lucas asks "So you don't have to cook"

"I don't mind cooking" She says

"You cook every night you deserve a break"

"Lucas" Peyton says giving him a warning look

"Ok" he says

The three eat and Emery starts yawning. Peyton smiles at him.

"You tired buddy?"

"A little"

"Do you want to take a nap?"

"No" he says "Can I watch a movie in your room?"

Peyton laughs "Of course!" she says picking him up and carrying him into her room. She returns shortly to find that Lucas has cleaned up the kitchen.

"You should be resting"

"Lucas" Peyton says "This is my every day life and I'm not going to change it until I have to. I don't want to scare Emery. I'm fine"

Lucas smiles at her "What's he doing?"

"Probably sleeping by now" Peyton says smiling

"What are you going to do?"

"Today I'm going to vacuum the floors and mop and clean the bathrooms"

"I'll help you" Lucas says

Peyton sighs "Ok, thanks"

The two go about doing all Peyton's daily tasks including putting dinner together. The front door flies open and the two little girls run into the house.

"Mama" Ellie shouts

"Hey baby" Peyton says hugging the little girl "How was school?"

"Jude and Davis got in trouble for fighting and Sarah threw up all over the carpet and Mary has headlice"

"Oh" Peyton says frowning "Headlice, huh?"

"Yes, and Mrs. Jordan checked all of our hair and she said I didn't have any headlice but they sent a note home with us"

"Great" Peyton says "I'll read it and see what I need to do"

"Ok, mama" Ellie says hugging her mom again

"I put some snacks out on the counter"

"Thanks, mama"

Peyton looks at Sawyer "How as your day, baby?"

"Pretty good. I had gym instead of art class so that wasn't fun and I have to study again tonight because I have a social studies test tomorrow. I got 100 percent on my spelling pre-test and we have to make a diorama but Mrs. Walker will give us the guidelines for that tomorrow. Will you help me with it when she assigns it to us?"

"Of course" Peyton says smiling at her daughter

"Can you help me study tonight too?"

"I sure will. We'll study after dinner"

"Thanks mom" she says hugging her.

Sawyer walks into the kitchen and Peyton stands in the door way and starts to cry. Lucas walks up to her and wraps his arms around her.

"I can't be sick, Luke" she says "My babies need me"

"I'll be here and I'll help them. I won't coach if that's what needs to happen"

"Mama" Ellie yells from the kitchen "Can we have more cheese?"

"I'll be right there" Peyton says wiping her eyes

Peyton walks into the kitchen and grabs the cheese out of the fridge. She cuts the cheese with the special cutter to put waves in it and puts it on the plate.

"Mama" Sawyer asks "Will you pick us up from school tomorrow?"

"Uncle Nate's picking you up" Lucas says walking into the kitchen

"Why?" Sawyer asks

"Your mom and I have an appointment so he's going to pick you up and hang out with you until we get home"

"Oh" Sawyer says frowning "Ok"

"Why don't you two go play until dinner and we'll do homework after?" Peyton says smiling at them

"Can I go to my room and draw?" Sawyer asks

"Sure" Peyton says

"Daddy, can we go play basketball?"

"Sure" Lucas says. He kisses Peyton and then he and Ellie walks outside.

Sawyer walks out of the room and then comes back and sits at the counter with her sketch pad. Peyton gets the potatoes out of the pantry and starts peeling them. She checks the roast she put in the over and then she looks at Sawyer and smiles.

"You look sad today" Sawyer says

"I'm fine" Peyton says smiling at her

Sawyer just sighs and goes back to her drawing. Peyton and Sawyer work in a peaceful silence. Peyton makes the sides for dinner and Sawyer works on her drawing. She loves sitting in the room with her mom. Sawyer was a mama's girl and just sitting with her made her smile.

Peyton gets the plates out of the cupboard.

"I'll set the table mama" Sawyer says

"Thanks sweetie" Peyton says

Sawyer sets the table and Peyton puts dinner on it.

"Can you go get your dad and sister while I get Emery?"

"Sure" Sawyer says running outside

Peyton goes and gets the little boy who is sitting on the bed watching TV.

"Hi mama" He says smiling at her

"Why didn't you come out when you got up?"

"I wanted to watch TV in here"

"Well come on sweetie dinner's ready"

Emery gets up and jumps into his mother's arms. When they get to the dining room everyone is sitting at the table. The family eats dinner and talk and laugh.

After dinner Peyton and Lucas help the girls with their homework and read with them then put them to bed. They tuck Emery in and finally have a minute to sit down with each other.

Peyton sits on the couch with a cup of coffee and Lucas comes out and sits next to her.

"Aren't you going to write tonight?" Peyton asks

"No" Lucas says "I thought we'd go to bed early tonight and I could just hold you"

"Luke" Peyton sighs "You need to get that book finished and I'm fine. Please, don't put your life on hold for me"

"You are my life, Peyt" Lucas says looking at her "I could care less about that stupid book. I want to spend tonight with my wife" he says leaning over and kissing her "Now how about we go to bed?"

"It's like 9 o'clock" Peyton says

"I know but…"

Peyton smiles at him. The two head into their room and spend the night together. The next morning they wake up and Lucas helps her get all the kids ready for the day. He even makes breakfast. They get the kids off to school and go to the grocery store and Peyton does the laundry.

12:30 rolls around and they take Emery to Nathan and drop him off. They then head to the hospital. They meet Dr. Silver and they sit and wait.

"I'm scared" Peyton whispers to Lucas

"I know but I'm right here"

"Hold my hand" Peyton says

Lucas climbs onto the bed next to Peyton and holds her. She lays her head on his shoulder.

"You know I may lose my breasts" Peyton says

"Baby, it's never been about your breasts to me" Lucas says smiling "It's all about your legs"

Peyton smiles at him

The nurse walks in. "We're ready to take you back, Peyton" she says smiling

"Ok" Peyton sighs

Lucas kisses her "I love you and I'll be right here when you get out"

"I love you too" Peyton says

They take her back into the sterile environment. They help her get onto the table laying face down. Her breasts fall through the holes in the table.

"Hi Peyton" Dr. Silver says "We're going to do the ultra-sound FNA first and then we'll do the regular FNA.

"Ok" Peyton says

The nurse guides the doctor with the ultra-sound and he inserts the needle into Peyton's breast. He withdraws a needle full of cells. Then he gets into the mass that he can feel and draws out another needle full of cells.

The nurses help Peyton back into the wheel chair and into the recovery room.

"When the local wears off you're going to be very sore you're going to want to take it easy today. We're sending the samples to pathology and your doctor will call you as soon as your pathology report is finished."

"Thank you" Peyton says

As soon as the nurse leaves Lucas climbs back in the bed next to her. He holds her while they wait to be released. Finally the nurse brings the paperwork and they leave the hospital. Lucas pulls up the car and helps Peyton into it. They hold hands as they drive to Nathan and Haley's house.

When they pull into the driveway Jamie, Ellie and Emery are playing basketball with Nathan. Sawyer is sitting on the porch with her sketch pad.

"I worry about her" Peyton says looking at Sawyer

"Why?" Lucas says

"Because she's my girl and you two don't have anything in common. Who will she talk to about her art?"

"Peyton" Lucas says grabbing her hand "She'll talk to you"

"What if I'm gone?"

"Baby, don't think like that" Lucas says "You're going to be here for her and you're going to be here to watch them all grow up."

"Ellie and Emery will be fine without me but she won't. She needs me. The other two are into basketball and idealize their daddy but Sawyer she's my girl she's the artist she's not going to know what to do without me" tears run down her face

"Peyton" Lucas says "Stop, baby, stop" he sighs "You're going to be fine. I promise you're going to be here for her."

Peyton wipes her face and takes a deep breath. "Please don't say anything to Nathan and Haley"

"I won't" Lucas says "Not until we know what's going on"

"Thanks" Peyton says

The two get out of the car.

"Mama!" Emery yells and runs over to her "I missed you today"

Peyton hugs the little boy "I missed you too, baby"

"Hey buddy" Lucas says and he hugs Emery

Ellie and Sawyer walk over to their parents

"Hi mama and daddy" Ellie says hugging them both

"Hey baby" Lucas says picking her up "How was your day at school?"

"Ok" She says "I'm glad you're here now" she says hugging him then holds her hands out to her mom "mama, Uncle Nate doesn't make snacks like you do and he doesn't read stories like you do either"

Peyton kisses the little girl on the head "Thanks baby"

"How was your day?" Peyton asks hugging Sawyer

"It was good" she says wrapping her arm around her mom as they walk towards the house "We got our diorama homework today"

"Ok, we'll look at it when we get home"

"Thanks mama" Sawyer says

The family goes into Nathan and Haley's house and act like nothing is happening. They laugh and eat dinner. They then take the kids home and do homework and put everyone to bed.

Once everyone is settled Peyton goes into her room and sits on the edge of the bed. Lucas walks in and looks at her. She is sitting there crying. He rushes over to her and holds her.

"Lucas" She says looking at him "The kids need a mom so if something happens to me please promise me you'll…"

"No" Lucas says "Our children have a mother and she's the best mother in the world and you're going to be here for them" he adds hugging her.

"You know I love you with all my heart and I wouldn't change anything about our life together"

"Neither would I and I love you too" Lucas says "How about a hot bath?"

"Ok" Peyton says

Lucas gets up and starts the bathtub. Peyton sighs because now they have to just sit and wait. Wait for the news that could change their lives. Wait for news that she could be dying… Wait… wait… wait… What would happen when the waiting was done?


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I'm sorry for the delay in my update. My dad passed away this week and I've been handling the preparations for his funeral and having his funeral.

Chapter 3

Peyton sits on the couch in the living room staring at the wall. How come she always had to wait a week? First, she had to wait a week to see Dr. Stevens now she's waiting a week for the pathology report. Sure to all of them she's just another number another women who may have cancer but to her it was her life. She needed to know how to plan her future. She needed to know whether or not she was going to need chemo and how it would affect her daily life. She needed to know.

"Mama" Sawyer calls from the kitchen

Peyton is pulled out of her thoughts by her daughter's voice. She gets up and walking into the kitchen.

"What's up sweetie?" Peyton asks with a smile on her face

"I was wondering if I could have one of the cookies you made?"

"Oh sure" Peyton says "I made extras of every kind"

"Thanks" Sawyer says taking one of the cookies and going over to the table "Our diorama of Tree Hill looks really cool." She says looking at it sitting on the table "I love how you helped me make it light up and stuff"

Peyton smiles "I'm sure it's going to be the best in your class"

"I'm sure it will too" Sawyer says

Peyton sighs "How come you never go out and play basketball with your dad and sister and brother?"

Sawyer looks at her surprised "Because I hate basketball and I like hanging out with you"

"I like hanging out with you too" Peyton says smiling "How about we go out there and play with them?"

Sawyer looks at her mom "What about making dinner?"

"How about we go play basketball with them and then we'll go for bugers after?"

"Really?" Sawyer asks "On a school night?'

"Yep, on a school night" Peyton says smiling

"Ok" Sawyer says "I'll go put my tennis shoes on"

Peyton smiles and goes and gets her tennis shoes on too. Her and Sawyer walk outside and Lucas looks at her.

"Can we play too?" Peyton asks smiling

Lucas smiles at her "Sure" he says "Sawyer and I against you and Ellie and Emery"

"Ok" Peyton says smiling

"Ellie and mom gets the ball first"

Lucas passes the ball to Peyton and she stands in the grass. Lucas is blocking her and Sawyer is trying to block Ellie. Ellie is running all over the place and Peyton passes the ball to her. She runs and makes takes a shot. It goes in. Peyton cheers. The family continues like this laughing and having a good time. The family plays until Sawyer and Lucas win with a score of 10 to 8.

"Mama, you let daddy win!" Ellie says

Peyton sighs "I'm sorry sweetie I did the best I could"

"I know but you're not very good"

Peyton laughs "I know but wasn't that so much fun?" she says sitting in the grass

"It really was" Sawyer says walking over and sitting next to her

"I'm glad you guys decided to finally come out and play with us" Lucas says

"Me too" Peyton smiles at him

"I'm hungry" Emery says climbing onto Peyton's lap

"Then let's go out and get some dinner"

Everyone looks at her "It's a school night and we have homework" Ellie says "We never go out on school nights"

"Well there's a first time for everything" Peyton says "And I want to go to Farmer's Home and have a delicious burger!"

"I think mama fell and hit her head" Sawyer says

"Nope" Peyton answers "Just think we should have some fun"

"Burgers at Farmer's sounds great to me" Lucas says "Let's go!"

The Scott family climbs into Lucas' vehicle and head to the local bar to have dinner. Sawyer orders a burger like her mom and dad do and Ellie and Emery order chicken strips and fries. Peyton orders a beer which surprises Lucas but he just smiles at her.

"Are we going to the game Friday night?" Ellie asks eating her chicken strips

"Of course we are" Sawyer says "Mama never misses daddy's games"

Peyton smiles at Lucas "Nope, I never do" she says taking a bite of her burger "I have a crazy idea" she adds smiling

"What?" Ellie and sawyer asks with huge smiles on their faces

"How about you two skip school tomorrow and tonight we'll make snuggle zones in the living room and pop a bunch of popcorn and watch movies all night long and camp out. Then tomorrow we can go shopping or to the zoo or on a picnic… we'll do something fun"

Lucas looked at Peyton in shock. "You're going to let the kids stay home from school?"

"Sure, why not?" Peyton says "We never do anything crazy like that!"

"I want to stay home with mama!" Sawyer says smiling

"Me too" Ellie says "I think that sounds like so much fun"

Lucas smiles "Well if they get to stay home I want to stay home too" he adds smiling at his wife

"Then tomorrow is Scott skip day!" Peyton says and everyone cheers.

The little family finishes their dinner and then head home to build their inside campground. Peyton's in the kitchen popping popcorn and Lucas walks in.

"So who are you and what did you do with my wife?"

Peyton turns to look at him smiling "I'm scared and I just want to spend time with my kids"

Lucas walks over and hugs her. "I know your scared sweetie."

"Why is it taking them so long to call us?"

"They said a week" Lucas sighs "I guess they meant it would take a full week"

"That's tomorrow"

"I know" Lucas says holding her closer "And I'm going to be standing right next to you when the phone call comes"

Peyton hugs him "Thank you" she says kissing him on the lips

"You know I'm going to be here for all of it no matter what. You can be scared and I'll hold you and support you and you can cry and I'll dry your eyes. You're my soul mate and I'm going to be here. I'm gonna love you through this"

Peyton hugs him "Just keep telling me that"

Lucas smiles "I sure will"

"Mama, daddy" Sawyer says running into the kitchen "The campground is ready"

Peyton smiles at her "We'll be right there" she says pulling out the bag of popcorn from the microwave.

Lucas got a bowl and the dumped all the popcorn in it. Peyton got some juice boxes and smaller bowls and seasonings for the popcorn. They walk into the living room. The three kids were laying on the floor with spaces between them.

"Mama, here" Ellie says patting the spot between her and Sawyer

Peyton smiles and sits down what she carrying on the table. Lucas put the popcorn down as well.

"Where am I supposed to go?" Lucas says looking at Ellie

"Here daddy" She says pointing to the other side of her

"How come you got to be in the middle?" Lucas asks settling down between her and Emery

"Because I am the middle" She says smiling

Peyton settles into her spot between the two girls and then kisses them both on the forehead.

"What movie are we starting with?"

"Lion King" Emery shouts

"We let him pick because we figured he'd fall asleep first" Sawyer says matter of factly

Peyton starts the movie and the family watches talking and eating popcorn. Sawyer and Ellie were right. Emery fell asleep first and then Ellie did but Sawyer she stayed awake for a long time. After her brother and sister were sleeping she crawled over between her parents.

"So" She says looking at them

"So, what?" Lucas says

"What's going on?"

Peyton looks at her daughter in surprise "Nothing's going on! Why would you ask that?"

"Are you getting a divorce?" Sawyer asks with fear in her eyes "When Sarah's parents got a divorce they did something like this and then her dad moved out"

"Sawyer, we are not getting a divorce!" Lucas says "I love your mom more than anything in this world I would never leave her or you guys!"

"Then why is mom letting us stay up late and skip school tomorrow?"

"I just wanted to spend some special time with you guys" Peyton says "I just thought it would be fun"

"It is fun I just think something is wrong"

"Nothing's wrong" Peyton says hugging her daughter "How about some ice cream?"

"Ellie and Emery are sleeping" Sawyer says "that would be fair"

Peyton smiles at her daughter "Well I'm going to have ice cream it's too bad that they fell asleep but I still want ice cream"

Sawyer smiles "Ok then I'll have some"

"I want some too" Lucas says

The three get up and go into the kitchen. Peyton gets out the ice cream and bowls while Sawyer gets out the toppings.

"This is fun, mama" Sawyer says

"I think so too" Peyton smiles at her daughter. Peyton scoops out some ice cream into each of the bowls and then everyone tops their ice cream how they want it. They sit at the counter and eat.

"What should we do tomorrow?" Peyton asks taking a spoonful of ice cream

"We should go to the beach" Sawyer says smiling

"It's kind of cool to go to the beach"

"I know but it might be fun" Sawyer says "We can play in the sand"

"Ok" Peyton says

They eat their ice cream and then head back to the living room where Sawyer snuggles into her mother and falls asleep. Peyton and Lucas fall asleep as well.

The next morning the family gets up and gets ready to go to the beach. Peyton packs a picnic lunch and Lucas helps the kids pack everything they need to have a fun day. They get into car and head to the beach.

Sawyer, Ellie and Emery get right to work on building their sand castle. Lucas sits reading a book and Peyton sits sketching the day. The kids are laughing and having a good time. Peyton grabs a bottle of water and hands it to Lucas. She then gets one for herself. She goes to check the time on her cell phone and it starts ringing. She looks at Lucas.

"Who is it, sweetie?" he asks noticing the look on her face

"Dr. Stevens' office" Peyton says

"Answer it"

Peyton sighs and answers the phone.

"Hello" Peyton says into the phone

Lucas moves over and wraps his arm around her. Peyton listens to what the doctor says. Peyton starts crying hands to phone to Lucas.

"Hello, this is her husband" he says and then listens to the doctor. "Ok, we'll be there thank you" Lucas says hanging up the phone. He pulls Peyton close to him and just holds her while she cries. Dr. Stevens just told her that her worst fear had just come true. Her fears were now a reality.

"Lucas" she whispers

"It's going to be ok, baby"

"I have cancer"

"I know" Lucas says "I know" he just sits there fighting back his own tears to console his wife. He was going to be strong in front of her no matter how hard it was going to be. He loved her and he was going to love her through this.

"Peyton" he sighs

She just shakes as she cries

"We have to go meet with Dr. Jenkins tomorrow"

She just nods. Sawyer notices and comes running over to her mother.

"Mama, what's wrong she shouts?"

"Nothing" Peyton sighs "Just go and play"

Sawyer hugs Peyton and runs back to play with her brother and sister. Peyton cries a little longer and then composes herself so that the kids wouldn't worry. The family spends the rest of the day at the beach and Peyton and Lucas try to have a good time.

They get home and eat dinner then all the kids go to bed. Peyton is lying in bed reading a book. Lucas walks in and sees tears running down his face. He rushes over to her.

"Oh baby" He says climbing onto the bed next to her wrapping her into his arm.

"I'm scared, Lucas" Peyton says relaxing into him

"Me too but we're going to find the best treatment it doesn't matter if the insurance covers it or not. You're going to have the best and I'll be next to your side every step of the way. I'm going to talk to Principal Turner about going on leave so I can be here every day"

Peyton looks up and kisses him "I'm so lucky to have you"

"I'm lucky to have you too and I'm not going to lose you so we're going to fight this with everything they have. Now I know it's probably hard for you but you need to try to get some sleep."

"Are you going to go to bed?"

"Yes" Lucas says "I'm going to hold you until you fall asleep and then all night while you're sleeping"

They two lay down and Lucas wraps his arms around Peyton as she lies on his chest. He rubs up and down her arm until her breathing changes and he knows she's sleeping. He kisses her forehead and then dozes off to sleep never loosen his grip on her.

In the morning, Lucas got the kids ready for school allowing Peyton to sleep in. He took Emery to Brooke's house now that Julian was home and then came home to find Peyton standing in front of the mirror staring at her breasts.

"I'm afraid to lose them" she says turning to look at him

"I'll buy you new ones" he says smiling at her

"A boob job" Peyton says with a smile on her face "That might be nice"

"Might be" Lucas says walking up and kissing her naked shoulder

"Thank you for taking care of the kids this morning"

"No problem" Lucas says

"How's Brooke feeling?"

"She said if that baby doesn't come out of her today she was going to reach up there and pull it out"

"That sounds like Brooke" Peyton says laughing

"You need to finish getting ready so we can get going"

Peyton takes a deep breath "I'll be ready in a few minutes"

"Ok" He says kissing her again and then walking out of the room

Peyton gets dressed and they head to the hospital where Dr. Jenkins office was located. They check in and sit in the waiting room.

"What do you think she's going to tell us?" Peyton asks

"The results of the pathology report and what to do next"

Peyton sighs "I'm going to lose my curly hair"

"that's ok" Lucas says "You'll be beautiful with or without hair"

"You've never seen me without hair so you really can't say that"

"You're beautiful no matter what Peyton Scott and don't you forget it"

Peyton smiles at hm.

"We should tell our friends" Lucas says grabbing Peyton's hand "We're going to need help and they're going to wonder what's up"

Peyton sighs "I know we'll tell them"

"And we need to decide how to tell the kids"

"I know" Peyton says "Can we wait until it sets in a little?"

"Sure" Lucas says grabbing her hand "We can do whatever you want to do, honey"

Peyton just sits there and holds his hand.

The door opens and a young nurse enters the room.

"Peyton" she says walking over to her

"Yes" Peyton says

"I have some paperwork I need you to fill out"

"Ok" Peyton says taking the clipboard

"We'll be with you in just a minute" The nurse says sweetly

"Thank you" She says as the nurse walks away"

"I can fill those out if you'd like"

"Ok" Peyton says handing Lucas the clipboard.

He fills out the papers and takes them back to the nurse's station. He returns to Peyton and holds her hand. The door opens and another nurse comes out.

"Peyton" she says

Peyton and Lucas both stand up at the same time hand in hand. They walk towards the nurse.

"Hi, I'm Lydia" The nurse says smiling "I'm Dr. Jenkins right hand lady around here. I'll be the lady you talk to the most beside the doctor"

"Nice to meet you" Lucas says holding out his hand "I'm Peyton's husband, Lucas"

Lydia shakes his hand

"I'm Peyton" Peyton says softly shaking her hand as well.

"I'm going to take you into a conference room so you and Dr. Jenkins can go over your pathology report and then we'll show you to an examining room for your exam"

"Thank you" Peyton managed to say

Lydia shows Lucas and Peyton into a room and shows them where to sit.

"Would you like coffee or anything?"

"No, thank you" Peyton replies and Lucas shakes his head no.

"Dr. Jenkins will be right with you" Lydia says walking out of the room

Lucas moves closer to Peyton

"I'm scared" Peyton whispers

"Me too" Lucas replies "But I'm going to be right here next to you for everything. Every step of the way I'm going to hold your hand. We'll get through this together"

Peyton smiles at him. "I love you" She says

"I love you too, baby"

Lucas kisses her softly and there's a knock on the door.

"Come in" Lucas says

In walks a brunette haired woman in her early 40s with the biggest smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Sarah Jenkins" she says shaking Peyton's hand

"I'm Peyton and this is my husband, Lucas"

"Hi, Lucas. Nice to meet" She says. She takes the chair behind the desk "Ok" says with a cheerful smiles "do you want me to beat around the bush or get right to the information?"

Peyton liked her already "I want you to get right to the information"

"Sounds good. As you know you have some masses in your breast"

"Yes" Peyton says nodding

Sarah sighs and hands Peyton and Lucas a copy of the pathology report.

"I'm going to explain what we found" Dr. Jenkins says "There is a lot of information and a lot of it is useless when it comes to a diagnosis. The first thing the report states is whether or not the cancer is invasive or non-invasive. What the report shows is that your cancer is invasive. What this means is that you have invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) for short. 80% of breast cancer is this kind of cancer."

Peyton sighs "So what does that mean?"

"Well" Dr. Jenkins answers "Invasive means that the cancer has invaded or spread to the surrounding breast tissues. Ductal means that the cancer began in the milk ducts, which are the pipes that carry milk from the milk producing lobules to the nipple and carcinoma refers to any cancer that begins in the skin or other tissues that cover internal organs, such as breast tissue. All together invasive ductal carcinoma refers to cancer that has broken trough the wall of the milk duct and begun to invade the tissues of the breast. Over time, invasive ductal carcinoma can spread to the lymph nodes and possibly to other areas of the body."

Peyton sighs again "So has my spread?"

"That we don't know yet" Dr. Jenkins replies "We have to do a PET scan."

"Ok" Peyton says and Lucas squeezes her hand.

"The next information in the report that grade of your cancer. This is the score that tells you how different the cancer cells' appearance and growth patterns are from those or normal healthy breast cells. Your cancer is a grade 3. These means it's poorly differentiated. The cells look very different from normal cells. They grow quickly in disorganized, irregular patterns, with many diving to make new cancer cells. Having a higher-grade cancer may be more vulnerable to treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which work by targeting fast-dividing cells."

"So Peyton's caner is rapidly spreading?" Lucas asks

"Yes" Dr. Jenkins answers

"Ok" Peyton responds

"We also checked for Vascular or lymphatic system invasion. This happens when breast cancer cells break into the blood vessels or lymph channels. This increases the risk of the cancer traveling outside the breast or coming back in the future. At this time your report says absent which means there is no invasion at this time."

"That's good" Lucas says

"With it saying absent that's a good indication that it hasn't spread elsewhere"

Peyton nods.

"Your cancer is also hormone receptor negative which means no receptors are present and that hormonal therapy is unlikely to work. You look a little overwhelmed. I'm going to go get some coffee for you both and I'll be right back" Dr. Jenkins says getting up and walking out of the room.

Lucas hugs Peyton "How are you doing?"

"Let's not talk right now" Peyton says "I'm trying really hard not to cry and I don't want to cry until we're on our way home"

"Baby, it's ok to cry"

"I need to keep a clear head so I can understand everything" She says "I'll cry on the way home"

Lucas hugs her again and Dr. Jenkins walks back in and hands them both some coffee.

"We still have a few things to go over. Are you ok to continue or do you want to come back and we can finish this?"

"Let's finish" Peyton answers

"Ok, the next piece of information we have is the HER2 factor. This is the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 which is one gene that can play a role in the development of breast cancer. The HER2 gene makes HER2 proteins. HER2 proteins are receptors on breast cells. Normally, HER2 receptors help control how a healthy breast cell grows, divides, and repairs itself. When the HER2 gene doesn't work correctly and makes too many copies of itself known as HER2 gene amplification. All these extra HER2 genes tell breast cells to make too many HER2 receptors. This makes breast cells grown and divided in an uncontrolled way. Luckily, your pathology report shows that you are HER2 negative. However, because this test isn't always 100 percent accurate so we may run this again. We'll see what the blood work shows as we continue through the months"

Peyton just nods again

"Currently, your lymph node involvement is microscopic which means only a few cancer cells are in the nods. A microscope was needed to find them."

"That's good right?"

"Right" Dr. Jenkins says smiling "The final piece of information we need to go over is the stage of your cancer"

"Ok" Peyton says sighing

"At this time" Dr. Jenkins sighs "We cannot stage your disease. We have to wait until we do a PET scan"

"Ok" Peyton answers again

"What is a PET scan?" Lucas asks never letting go of Peyton's hand

"A positron emission tomography or PET scan is an imaging tool that allows me to pinpoint the location of cancer within the body before making treatment recommendations. The highly sensitive PET scan images the biology of disorders at the molecular level. A PET scan allows me to distinguish between living and dead tissue or between benign and malignant disorders. It can help the physician detect abnormalities in cellular activity at a very early stage, generally before anatomic changes are visible."

Lucas just shakes his head.

Dr. Jenkins sighs "I know I've given you a lot of information and I'm sure your head is spinning. I'm going to wait and do the exam until the next time you come in. I'm going to send my nurse in to schedule an appointment for your PET scan and then we'll make an appointment to go over the results and do your exam then"

"Ok" Peyton says "Thank you for all the information today."

Dr. Jenkins smiles at her "I know this is a lot of scary information and you're probably going to have a lot of questions. As you read the information I'm going to give you and we continue on our path together every time you have a question write it down to bring with you. Or you can call the office and ask it"

"Ok, thanks" Peyton says smiling

"I know it sounds scary and I know you're probably just going through the motions right now but I promise we will fight this as aggressively as we can and we will help you get into remission"

Peyton just shakes her head.

"I'll go get Lydia" Dr. Jenkins says as she gets up and walks over to Peyton "I'm sorry I had to meet you like this but we'll do everything to help you reach remission"

"Thank you" Peyton says smiling

Dr. Jenkins walks out the door and Lydia walks in.

"Ok, we need to schedule a PET scan for you. It looks like they can do it tomorrow night at 8:15. Will that work for you?"

Peyton sighs "No, it won't." She says bluntly "I need to be home to tuck my kids into bed"

"Ok" Lydia says smiling at her "Then we can do it Friday morning at 10"

"That will be fine" Peyton says smiling

Lydia types the appointment into the computer and hands Peyton a piece of paper.

"Here you go" She says "We'll see you Friday"

"Thanks" Peyton says

Lydia leaves the room and Peyton stands up.

"Are you ready to go?" She says looking at Lucas who is still sitting down

Lucas stands up quickly and holds her hand as they walk to the door. They leave the office and the building and Peyton doesn't say a word. They get to the car and Lucas opens the door for Peyton who gets in. He then gets into the car himself

"So, what are we going to do?" He asks grabbing Peyton's hand and kissing it

"Go home and take a nap before picking up Emery" She says smiling at him

"Are you ok?" Lucas sighs

"I'm still processing everything Dr. Jenkins said"

"Me too" Lucas says

"Let's just go home and be together for a little while"

"Ok" Lucas says starting the car

Lucas pulls out of the parking lot and heads towards their home. Peyton looks out the window and Lucas can see the tears falling down her face. He just holds her hand tightly ad he's driving squeezing it every time he hears her sniffle. She just squeezes it back without saying a word.

She's scared and he's there just like she knew he would be.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Thank you for all the reviews and notes of sympathy. It has been a very hard week but somehow this story is therapeutic for me. Because watching someone suffering from cancer is fresh in my mind I may describe things a little in-depth. I hope that doesn't offend anyone. This chapter doesn't contain anything like that but chapters in the future may. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 4

Peyton sits on the front porch drinking a cup of coffee waiting for the kids to get home from school. Lucas walks out and sits next to her.

"Are you ready to talk?" He asks.

Peyton hadn't said a word since they got home from Dr. Jenkins' office. She just sat on the porch drinking coffee.

"What's there to talk about?"

"Maybe how you're feeling about everything?"

Peyton sighs "I'm scared to death I'm going to die"

Lucas sighs "I'm scare too but I'm going to be here with you no matter what."

"Lucas, how am I supposed to tell the kids?"

"I'm not sure but we'll do it together"

Peyton smiles at him "Ok" she says softly "Is everyone coming over for dinner tonight?"

"Yes" Lucas answers "I got a hold of them all and they'll be here. I told them it was really important"

"Thanks" Peyton says "I'm going to get really sick aren't I?"

"I'm not going to lie you probably are. Chemo is hard on a person's body but I'll take care of you and the kids and you don't have to worry about it"

"It's going to be hard for you to do all of that. Maybe I should go to a treatment center"

"Absolutely not!" Lucas says forcefully "Yes, it will be different but I will take care of you every step of the way"

"I wish Dr. Jenkins would have talked to us about treatment options today"

"I think she's just waiting for the PET scan results"

"So many tests to figure this all out"

"I know" Lucas says pulling Peyton close to him "It sucks that they're playing the waiting game with us"

"Yea" Peyton sighs "I liked Dr. Jenkins" she adds softly

"Me too" Lucas says

Peyton runs her fingers through her hair "I think I'm going to cut it off" she says softly

"Ok" Lucas says smiling at her

"That way when it falls out it won't be as hard on me"

"Maybe Brooke can take you tomorrow?"

"Maybe" Peyton sighs

"I'd be more than happy to take you if you want. I just thought you might want Brooke for that"

Peyton looks at him "I'd like you to take me if you want"

"Ok" Lucas says smiling "I'm looking into Family Medical Leave at work so I can just be home with you"

"You don't have to do that" Peyton says "We need the money"

"Don't worry about that" Lucas says "We'll be fine. We have a lot saved up and I have a lot of days saved too so they have to continue to pay me. If I run out of time we'll decided what we want to do then"

Peyton rests her head on his shoulder and he wraps his arms around her. "Lucas" she says softly

"It's going to be ok, babe" he says softly "We'll make it through this together"

"What if I die?"

"I don't want to think about that" Lucas says "We're going to do everything to make sure you don't die"

The bus pulls up in front of the house and Peyton sighs. Sawyer come running up to the house.

"Hi mama" Sawyer says giving her a hug and then turning to Lucas "Hi daddy"

"Hey baby girl" Lucas says hugging Sawyer tight

Ellie is taking her time coming up and Peyton wonders what's wrong.

"Ellie" Peyton says and Ellie looks at her

"Yes, mama" Ellie says still in the drive way

"Why are you taking so long to get up here?"

"She got in trouble today" Sawyer says smiling

"Sawyer!" Ellie yells "You promised you wouldn't tell!"

"Come here, baby" Peyton says and Ellie walks up and climbs onto Peyton's lap. "What happened at school today?"

"I got my card flipped and lost recess"

"Why?" Peyton asks

"I hit Jude because he pulled my hair"

"Did Jude get into trouble too?"

"Yes" Ellie says "My teacher was going to call you but I told her I'd be good and I wouldn't do it again"

"Well that's good" Lucas says and Ellie turns to look at him "Am I in trouble?"

"No" Peyton says hugging the little girl tight "But next time you have a problem with Jude or Davis go and talk to the teacher about it, deal?"

"Deal" Ellie says

"Anything exciting happen at school for you today, Sawyer?" Peyton asks smiling at her

"No" Sawyer says looking at her mom "Is something wrong?"

"Why are you asking that?" Peyton says with tears in her eyes

"Because you look so sad today" Sawyer says "You've looked sad for a lot of days and you haven't baked cookies or put out a school snack all week"

Tears fall down Peyton's face "I'm sorry" she whispers "There's a lot on my mind right now"

"So something is wrong?" Sawyer asks

"Yes" Peyton says taking a deep breath

"You are getting a divorce aren't you?" Sawyer yells

"No" Lucas says "Come here, Ellie" he says taking her from Peyton

"Sawyer, come sit on my lap" Peyton says and Sawyer does what her mom tells her to do

Peyton takes a deep breath "I'm sick" she says softly

Sawyer looks at her "Then you should be in bed"

"Do you have the flu, mama?" Ellie asks "Or a cold or a fever?"

"No, baby" Peyton says reaching over and placing her hand on her face

"Then what's wrong?" Sawyer asks

Peyton sighs "I have cancer" she says softly

Sawyer's eyes get really big "NO!" she yells "NO, NO, NO! Mama, you can't have cancer! NO, NO, NO!" she yells again and then turns to hug her mother tightly.

"What's cancer?" Ellie says

"You're so stupid!" Sawyer yells with tears cascading down her face "Cancer is what Mr. Madden had"

"Our principal that died?" Ellie asks

"Yes, stupid!" Sawyer says

"Hey" Peyton says trying to control her own tears "Don't call her stupid, baby. She's little and doesn't understand"

Sawyer just hugs Peyton tighter "I'm sorry mama"

"Are you going to die like Mr. Madden?" Ellie asks hugging Lucas tightly

"No she's not Ellie!" Sawyer yells "Mama can't die!" she shouts again looking at Lucas "Right, daddy? You're not going to let mama die are you?"

"No, I'm not" Lucas says

"We'll take care of you mama" Sawyer says "We'll take care of everything around here so you can get better"

Peyton kisses her softly on the forehead "Thanks baby" She says softly

Ellie has a funny look on her face

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Peyton asks her

"Can we get cancer from you?" Ellie asks almost ashamed

"No, sweetie" Peyton says

"Ok" Ellie says crawling off Lucas' lap and lying her head on Peyton's lap.

Peyton rubs her hair.

"What are you going to do to get better?" Sawyer asks

"We're not sure yet" Peyton says "I'm probably going to have to have chemotherapy which is a kind of medicine that will make me sicker before it makes me better"

"Why is that mama?" Ellie asks

"Because it attacks the all the cells in my body the good ones and the bad ones so it's going to make me really sick"

"I'll take care of you" Sawyer says

Peyton kisses her head

"I'll take care of you too, mama" Ellie says

"Thanks girls" Peyton says sighing "I'm going to lose my hair"

"All of it?" Sawyer asks

"Yes" Peyton says "I'm thinking about getting it cut tomorrow so It's not as weird when it falls out"

"Can I go with you?" Sawyer asks

"Sure" Peyton says

"When will you start your medicine?" Ellie asks

"I have to have one more test and when the results from that test come back then I'll start"

"Will you have to go away?" Sawyer asks holding Peyton tightly

"No" Peyton says "I should be able to have chemo during the day while you're at school and then I'll be home when you get here. I might just have to be in bed for a few days after my medicine"

"Ok" Ellie says

Sawyer just sits there. Peyton is worried because she hasn't said much but she figures she just needs some time to process everything.

"Who would like a snack?" Peyton says smiling

"Me!" Ellie says jumping up

"I think I'm going to go work on my homework" Sawyer says getting off of Peyton's lap and hugging her tightly

"I can help you with it if you want" Peyton offers

"I just have to study my spelling and read maybe you can help me later"

"Ok" Peyton says

Sawyer walks into the house followed by Ellie.

"That went better than I thought" Lucas sighs

"Sawyer's not ok" Peyton sighs

"She seemed ok"

"She's not"

"I'll talk to her" Lucas says

"No" Peyton says "You go get Ellie a snack and I'll go talk to her"

The two stand up and Lucas hugs Peyton.

"Are you doing ok?"

"I'm surviving" Peyton sighs

"You're doing great"

"Thanks" Peyton says walking into the house. She walks up the stairs and to Sawyer's door. She knocks on it softly.

"Come in" Sawyer says for the other side of the door

Peyton opens to door to see Sawyer quickly wiping at her eyes. Peyton went over and sat down next to her wrapping her arms around her.

"You can't die, mama" Sawyer says through her tears

"I'm not planning on dying, baby"

Sawyer wraps her arms tightly around Peyton squeezing her.

"Where's the cancer?"

"In my breast"

"I can sit with you while you have chemo"

"I'd like that" Peyton says kissing the small girl's head

"I can stay home from school and take care of you too"

Peyton smiles "You have to go to school baby but you can sit with me when you get home"

"Daddy doesn't like me so you can't leave me here with him"

Peyton grabs Sawyer's face so they're looking at each other "That's not true, baby" she says wiping the tears from her eyes "Your daddy loves you and he'll take great care of you"

"He doesn't like to draw or listen to music or anything of the things we do together. Who will help me with the shading of my drawings?"

"I will" Peyton says hugging the little girl "I'll help you with everything"

"Promise?" Sawyer asks

"I will do my best" Peyton offers

Mama, I love you with all of my heart and I'm going to be here to take care of you the whole time"

"Thanks baby" Peyton says kissing the little girl "Come on. Let's go have a snack and we'll do homework later"

Sawyer smiles "Ok"

"In fact, since you're going to go with me to get my hair cut we can do it tomorrow while you're home"

"Really?" Sawyer says "I can stay home tomorrow?"

"Yep" Peyton says smiling "Just you and me and your dad"

"Dad's staying home too?" Sawyer says rolling her eyes

Peyton laughs "Yeah, he's worried about me"

"I am too, mama. You're my best friend and I don't know what I'll do if you die"

Peyton sighs "Then let's hope I don't die!" she says hugging Sawyer again "Come on"

Peyton and Sawyer walk out of Sawyer's room and downstairs. Lucas and Ellie are putting chocolate frosting on graham crackers.

"That doesn't look like a very healthy snack" Peyton says

Ellie laughs "Daddy said I could have it"

"Well I guess just this once it's ok" Peyton says walking over to the counter and sitting down on a bar stool. Sawyer climbs up next to her. "Pass us some"

Lucas smiles and does what Peyton asks.

"Mama, where's Emery?" Sawyer asks

"He's with Uncle Nate. He was sleeping so Nate's just going to bring him home when they come over for dinner"

"Why is everyone coming over for dinner?" Ellie asks

"Because I have to tell them I'm sick"

Ellie looks down "Oh" she says "I thought maybe you had gotten better"

Peyton smiles at her "It's going to take some time, sweetie, but I'll get better soon"

"Ok" Ellie says looking at Lucas "Can we go play basketball before dinner?"

"Sure" Lucas says walking over and kissing Peyton "Holler if you need help." He says walking outside with Ellie

"Why don't you go and play basketball with them, too" Peyton says making Sawyer a few graham crackers with frosting

"Nah" Sawyer says "I'll help you with dinner"

"When I'm sick in bed what are you going to do?"

"Help you"

"But you're a little girl and you should just sit in the house all the time"

"I do that now and you never say anything about it"

Peyton sighs "That's true"

"What's for dinner?"

"Chicken and rice" Peyton says

"I'll get the chicken out"

Peyton just smiles at the little girl and the two work quietly to make dinner. Sawyer tears the lettuce and helps Peyton cut the veggies for the salad. She also sets the table and does whatever her mother needs help with. Just as she puts the salad dressing on the table the doorbell rings.

"I'll get it, mama" Sawyer says running to the door. She opens it and her Aunt Brooke is standing there with Jude, Davis, and Julian. "Hi" Sawyer says moving to the side

"Hi baby girl" Brooke says pulling her into a hug

"Hey squirt" Julian says

"Hi Uncle Julian" Sawyer says in a sad voice

"Everything ok, honey?" Brooke asks

Sawyer didn't know if she was supposed to say anything so she just nods.

"Where's your mama?"

"In the kitchen"

"Come on, Sawyer" Jude says "We're going to go play outside"

Sawyer sighs and follows the boys into the yard. Julian goes with them. Brooke walks into the kitchen. She finds Peyton crying as she's stirring something. She rushes over to her.

"P. Scott, what's the matter?" she asks giving her a big hug

"Nothing" Peyton sighs "Everything"

"What's going on?"

Peyton turns to look at her.

"Are you ok?" Brooke asks "You look really tired and like you're not feeling well?"

Peyton starts crying harder

"Are you pregnant or something?"

"Or something" Peyton says between tears

"Peyton" Brooke says shaking her "You're scaring me! What's going on?!"

"I'm sick" Peyton says sobbing harder

"What do you mean you're sick?" Brooke says "Come sit down" she adds leading her over to the bar stools.

Peyton composes herself and looks at her childhood friend. "I have cancer"

"Peyton!" Brooke yells "That's not even funny! Now what's going on"

"I'm not joking, Brooke" Peyton says with a tear falling down her face "I have breast cancer"

Brooke stands up "What in the hell are you talking about?" She says her face going as white as a sheet "This isn't funny, Peyton! People die from cancer! Now what the hell is going on with you?!"

Peyton was about to say something when Haley walks into the room.

"Hey you two" She says as the smile on her face disappears "What's wrong?"

Peyton sighs "I have cancer"

"Peyton!" Brooke yells "Stop saying that!"

"What?" Haley asks rushing over to her "You have what?"

Peyton sighs "I have breast cancer"

"Stop it!" Brooke yells again getting up and walking out of the kitchen and out of the house slamming the door. "Julian, let's go!"

Julian looks at Brooke as Peyton and Haley come walking out of the house.

"What's wrong?" He asks

Lucas knows that Peyton has told them and he goes rushing over to her. Nathan and Julian follow. Brooke is standing next to her car.

"What's going on you two?" Nathan asks noticing how protective Lucas is being of Peyton

Peyton takes a deep breath "I'm sick" She says slowly

"What do you mean you're sick?" Nathan asks

"I have breast cancer"

"Shut up!" Brooke yells from the car "Why do you keep saying that?"

Julian rushes over to her just as she collapses on the ground

"Brooke" Peyton says rushing over to her

Brooke starts crying hysterically "You can't have cancer! You're too young! People our age don't get cancer you're just saying that! It's not true! It can't be true! Just stop"

Peyton sits on the ground next to Brooke and wraps her arms around her "It's ok, Brooke" she says softly rubbing her head "it's ok"

Sawyer see this and rushes over to her mom and Aunt.

"What's wrong with Aunt Brooke?"

"She doesn't want to believe mama's sick" Peyton says softly

Sawyer sits down next to Brooke and wraps her arms around her "It's ok, Aunt Brooke. We're going to take care of mama and make her feel better"

"You told them?!" Brooke says in shock

"Yes" Peyton says

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm going to get really sick and I don't want to scare them" Peyton says

"I don't understand" Nathan finally says when the shock wears off

"Let's go sit down" Lucas says "And we can talk about it all"

Everyone goes into the house and the kids go upstairs to play. Peyton sighs as she sits down next to Lucas and he wraps his arm around her.

"What's going on?" Julian asks still consoling Brooke

Peyton sighs "A few weeks ago I found a lump in my breast. I went to the doctor and they've been running tests ever since. They've concluded that I have breast cancer." Peyton chokes back a tear

"What stage?" Haley asks with tears in her eyes

"We don't know yet" Peyton says "I have to have PET scan before I know that"

"It's fast growing" Lucas says "And that's the scary part. It's also moved from the ducts into the healthy cells"

"Has it spread out of her breast?" Haley asks

"We don't know" Lucas answers "That's what the PET scan with tell us"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Nathan asks trying to fight back the tears

"Because we just got all the results today" Peyton says

"You're going to fight it right?" Julian asks concerned

"Of course" Peyton says "I have three children and a husband and friends that need me."

"What are they saying about treatment?" Brooke finally asks still looking like she dazed

"We still don't know" Peyton sighs "That's part of what we'll find out when we get the PET scan results"

"When is your PET scan?" Nathan asks

"Friday morning at 10"

"I'll take you" Brooke says wiping her eyes to clear the tears that are falling

"No" Peyton says "You're going to have that baby any day and you can't be worrying about me"

"I can quit my job" Haley says "So I can take care of you"

"I'm going to take a leave of absence from work for a while and then we'll go from there"

"How are the kids taking it?" Nathan asks

"Ellie doesn't seem to understand what's going on" Lucas sighs "But Sawyer's a mess she's just not showing it"

"This is going to be so hard on her" Brooke says staring out the window "Peyton's her world"

"I know that" Peyton sighs "I've been trying to get her to do things with Lucas but she's resisting. Maybe when I get a sicker she'll start"

"You're going to lose your hair" Brooke says sighing

"Yes, I am" Peyton says "But I'm going to go get it cut off tomorrow so when it does start falling out it won't be such a shock"

"Wow" Haley says

"It's a lot to digest" Lucas says hugging Peyton

"How about we go eat dinner and everyone can think about it for a while and we can talk more while we eat dessert and drink coffee?"

No one argues with Peyton they just get up and head into the dining room. Lucas gets the kids. Everyone eats in silence letting the kids do most of the talking. Once the kids are out of ear shot again the adult conversation starts back up.

"So what's the plan for the kids?" Haley asks

"We don't know yet" Lucas says "It's really going to depend on Peyton's chemo schedule or if she needs radiation or surgery"

"We'll help you no matter what" Brooke says "The kids can get off the bus at our house and if she's really sick the kids can stay with us as well"

"Thanks" Peyton says "But we're going to try to keep things as normal as possible for the kids"

"Then one of us can come stay here" Nathan sighs

"I was thinking about calling mom" Lucas sighs "I thought maybe her and dad could come home for a while and help us out"

"We are more than able to help you out!" Haley says

"I know that but you all have your own children and we can't expect you to help us"

"My mom could come home too" Peyton says "She just stays in Maine because that's where daddy's port is"

"We'll figure that all out when the time comes" Lucas says "One step at a time"

Peyton smiles at him as she squeezes her.

"We should probably get home" Brooke says. She so in shock she doesn't know what to do.

"Are you ok?" Peyton asks her

"Fine" she says not even looking at Peyton

"We should go home too" Haley sighs "Peyton needs to get all the rest she can"

"Thanks for all the support you guys" Peyton says standing up

"We'll get a schedule and everything worked out when you know what you're going to be doing" Haley says hugging her

"Thanks" Peyton says

"We're here for you" Julian says

Brooke just walks to the door. Peyton sighs.

"She'll be fine" Julian says

"Are you sure?"

"Yes" he says hugging her "She'll call you tomorrow"

Peyton just nods her head. Everyone leaves and Peyton goes upstairs to get the kids ready for bed while Lucas cleans up dinner.

Ellie was lying on the floor coloring when Peyton walks in.

"Hey sweetie it's time to get ready for bed"

Ellie sits up and looks at her "Mama" She says

"Yes" Peyton says walking over and sitting next to her

"Are your teeth going to fall out?"

Peyton starts laughing "No, why do you think that?"

"Well my teeth fall out and I thought maybe because your hair's going to fall our your teeth would fall out too"

"Nope" Peyton says hugging the little girl "I'm only going to lose my hair and lots of weight"

"Don't tell Aunt Brooke that"

"Why?" Peyton asks

"Because she's really fat and she might try to get cancer to lose her weight too!"

"Elizabeth!" Peyton snaps "Why would you say that?"

"She told Uncle Julian she was really fat and she hopes to lose all her weight fast so I just thought…"

Peyton smiles at her "Aunt Brooke's not going to get cancer so don't worry about it, ok?" She says kissing her forehead

"Ok" Ellie says

"Now, come on, let's get ready for bed"

Peyton and Ellie get off the floor and Peyton helps her into her pajamas then tucks her into bed. She then reads her a story and shuts the light off leaving the room. She walks into Sawyer's room and Sawyer is already in bed. She's reading a book.

"Hi, mama" She says as Peyton walks into the room

"Hi baby" She says walking over and crawling onto the bed next to her daughter

Sawyer just snuggles into Peyton

"How are you doing?"

With those words Sawyer just starts crying.

"I'm scared mama" she says through her tears

"I know baby, me too" Peyton replies holding the little girl while she cries "Everything's going to be ok"

"You don't know that"

"No, you're right I don't but I'm hoping it will be"

"Me too" Sawyer says hugging Peyton tighter

Peyton kisses her forehead

"Will you lay in here until I fall asleep?"

"Of course" Peyton says getting up and turning off the light and then returning to her daughter's bed. She lays down next to her daughter who curls up next to her. Peyton wraps her arms around Sawyer and they both drift off to sleep.

A little while later Lucas comes up and sees Peyton in Sawyer's bed. He walks over and kisses her softly on the forehead.

"Hey" he whispers into her ear

She wakes up "Hey" She says softly

"You going to come down soon?"

Peyton looks around "I didn't realize I fell asleep in here"

"That's why I came to get you" Lucas says smiling and lifting Sawyer gently so Peyton can slide out.

They both kiss their daughter's forehead and then head downstairs to their bedroom. Peyton walks into the bathroom and starts washing her face.

"Brooke didn't take the news too well, did she?" Peyton says with a sigh

"No, she didn't" Lucas sighs "She took it worse than we did"

"I should call her"

"In the morning baby" He says walking into the bathroom "You need some sleep"

"Yea, I am tired tonight"

"It's all the emotions and everything going on"

"I guess" Peyton sighs

"Come on" he says smiling at her "I'll hold you until you fall asleep and then all night long while you sleep"

Peyton kisses Lucas and they get ready for bed. They climb into bed and Lucas wraps his arms around her. She lays there thinking about her daughter and her best friend. The fact that she had cancer was hard on her but it was much harder to see how it was affecting two of the most important people in her life.

Lucas could tell that she was restless so he rubs her back softly until she final drifts off to sleep. He sighs as he kisses her forehead terrified of what the future will bring but determined to never let Peyton know that.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Peyton sits in a chair in the beauty shop looking through a magazine. Sawyer is sitting next to her on one side and Lucas on the other. She has her long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She knew what she was going to do she just needed the strength to do it.

"Hey Peyton" Melissa her hairdresser says

"Hi Melissa" Peyton says smiling

"Are you ready?" Melissa asks

Peyton takes a deep breath "As ready as I'll ever be"

"Want me to come back there with you?" Lucas asks

"No" Peyton says "You two stay here"

"Ok" Lucas says moving into the chair Peyton was sitting in

Peyton follows Melissa to the wash bowl and Melissa washes her hair.

"What are we going to do today?" Melissa asks while scrubbing Peyton's scalp

"We're going to cut it all off"

Melissa looks at her in shock "Why?"

"I have cancer" Peyton says "And I don't want to see my long hair fall out"

"Oh, Peyton" Melissa sighs "I'm so sorry"

"Thanks" Peyton says sitting up

"How short do you want to go?"

Peyton puts her hair back in the ponytail "I want you to cut the ponytail off and then we'll go from there"

"That's a lot of hair, Peyt"

"I know" Peyton sighs "I want it all gone"

"Ok" Melissa says

The two walk over to Melissa's chair. She takes a deep breath and takes the ponytail in her hands.

"Are you sure about this?" Melissa asks one more time

"I'm sure"

Melissa took a deep breath and cuts Peyton's ponytail. Tears fall down Peyton's face.

"Oh Peyt" Melissa says "Please don't cry"

"I'm sorry" Peyton sighs

"Don't be sorry" Melissa says "I just don't want to start crying with you"

Peyton smiles "I'll try not to cry"

Peyton's hair falls down around her face being freed from the ponytail holder.

"What would you like me to do now?"

"I want you to cut it to my chin and layer it around my face leaving my bangs cascading across my face"

Ok" Melissa says

Melissa cuts Peyton's hair feathering it in all the right place while she and Peyton talks. She dries and styles it. She takes and deep breath.

"Are you ready to see it?" Melissa asks Peyton

Peyton sighs "Yes" she says

Melissa turns the chair towards the mirror. Peyton gasps. Her hair was short. She couldn't believe how it looked. It was cute but it was short. Tears ran down her face.

"Oh, Peyton" Melissa says "Did I do it wrong?"

"No, no" Peyton says crying

"You said you wanted it short"

"I know" Peyton sighs

"Hold on" Melissa says walking away. She walks out front to Lucas "Come back quick! Peyton is crying"

Lucas gets up quickly and follows Melissa. Peyton is sitting in the chair with tears rolling down her face running her hand over the back of her head feeling her hair. She sees Lucas in the mirror and turns to look at him.

"What's wrong?" He says kneeling down to look her in the eyes

"Look at my hair" she sighs

"I love it" He says "It looks so cute on you. It's like when we were in high school and you and Brooke got in a fight and you chopped all your hair off to make you feel better. You're sexy with short hair and long hair. I love it!"

"Really?" Peyton says looking at him

"Really!" Lucas says smiling at her and then leaning in to kiss her lips softly

Peyton looks at Sawyer who was standing behind Lucas "Well?" Peyton asks

"I think it looks good too, mama" She says with tears in her eyes

"Why are you crying?" Peyton asks holding out her arms for Sawyer to come sit on her lap

Sawyer walks over and crawls onto Peyton's lap and hugs her tightly.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Peyton asks as her daughter sits there and cries

"I'm just sad because you're crying!" Sawyer says

Peyton hugs her "I'm sorry" she sighs "I didn't mean to make you sad." She wipes her eyes and kisses her daughter's forehead.

Sawyer wipes her eyes as well "I really do like your hair cut, mama" she says smiling

Peyton smiles back. "Thanks' she says hugging her "Let's get out of here and go see how your Aunt Brooke is doing"

"Ok" Sawyer says smiling

Peyton pays for her haircut and tips Melissa before walking out to the car. She looks at Lucas and he smiles at her. She smiles at him and grabs his hand.

"I'd like to go see Brooke" Peyton sighs

"Ok" Lucas says "I can take you"

"I think I should go alone"

"Ok" Lucas says

"What about me?" Sawyer asks

"Well" Peyton says looking back at her "I think you should come too"

Sawyer smiles and Peyton smiles back at her.

"How about I drop you two off and run to the store to pick up the things we need and then come back and get you two?"

"That sounds like a great idea" Peyton says squeezing Lucas' hand

They drive the rest of the way to Brooke's house and Lucas drops them off. Peyton and Sawyer walk up to the door and Sawyer knocks on it.

Julian answers "Hey" he says surprised to see them

"Hi" Peyton says "I just stopped to see Brooke"

"She's in the bedroom lying down"

"Can we go in and see her?" Peyton asks

"Sure" Julian replies "I was actually just going to run and get her some ice cream so will you just tell her I left?"

"No problem" Peyton says walking in as Julian walks out and closes the door. "Hey baby why don't you wait on the couch for me"

"Ok" Sawyer says walking to the couch and sitting down

"You can watch TV if you want" Peyton says as she walks down the hallway. She get to Brooke's bedroom door and knocks on it.

"Why are you knocking, Julian? And I thought you were going to get ice cream?"

Peyton opens the door and pops her head in.

"Peyton!" Brooke says looking at her in shock "You cut your hair!"

Peyton runs her hand through the back of her hair and sighs "Yeah, I just left the beauty shop" she says softly walking in "What do you think?"

Brooke musters up all she can and puts a big smile on her face "I love it" she says honestly. She really did love it. It was so cute she just knew why Peyton cut it and that made her sad. "You look so cute"

"Really?" Peyton asks not sure Brooke was being honest

"Yes, really" Brooke says "When have I ever lied to you?"

Peyton rolls her eyes as she sits down next to Brooke.

"Ok" Brooke says with a little laugh "When have I ever lied to you about your appearance?"

"Never" Peyton sighs

"Ok then" Brooke smiles at her "I love your haircut!"

Peyton just smiles at her and then takes a deep breath "Are you ok?"

Brooke looks at her funny

Peyton sighs again "About the cancer? You were pretty upset yesterday"

Now it's Brooke's turn to sigh "Honestly?"

"Yes" Peyton replies

"No, I'm not ok" Brooke says "It's bullshit that my not even thirty year old best friend has breast cancer and could possible die!" she says fighting back the tears "You have three beautiful children that need their mother and what in the hell is Lucas going to do? He can barely make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich what is he going to do when you can't cook? And you? You're always so brave and I just don't want you to try to protect all of us. I should be at your house asking you how you're doing not you being here asking me"

"I'm worried about you" Peyton says "You left really upset"

"I just didn't know how to handle the news. I came home and cried. I've been crying all day and I'll probably cry when you leave"

Peyton hugs her tightly and then looks her in the eyes "I'm going to be fine! Lucas is going to take care of everything while I'm sick and I'm going to be fine. I'm going to do chemo and radiation if I have to and even have surgery and in a few months I'll be as good as new" she tells her best friend wishing she believed that

"You don't know that, Peyton!" Brooke says almost yelling

"You're right I don't" She sighs "But I'm having a positive attitude about this because you're right I have three children that need me and a husband that will be lost without me and a friend that needs me to bake her cookies for the school bake sale. I have too much to do here still that I can't let this cancer beat me!"

Brooke smiles at her "I wish I were as strong as you!"

"You are!" Peyton says "And I need you to be strong for Sawyer!"

"What?" Brooke says looking at her confused

"I need your help now, Brooke"

"With what?"

"With my baby girl" Peyton sighs "She has nothing in common with Lucas and I've tried to get her to spend time with him but she just wants to be with me all the time. When I'm sick I don't want her sitting in the house staring at me waiting for me to get better. I want her to live her life I don't want her to put her life on hold while I'm sick."

"So what can I do to help?"

"Be there for her" Peyton says smiling "Come to the house and take her places even if it's just to the park so she can draw. I just need to know she's going to be ok while I'm not"

"Ok" Brooke says "I'll come and get her and take her places. I'll take care of her for you"

"Thank you" Peyton says feeling a little better about things

"You promise you're going to beat this?"

Peyton sighs "I can't promise anything like that but I'm going to fight like hell and do my best to try too"

Brooke hugs her "I can't believe my best friend has cancer"

"I can't believe it either"

There's a soft knock at the door "Mama, can I come in now?"

Peyton smiles at the sound of Sawyer's voice "Sure baby"

Sawyer walks in and climbs on the bed giving her Aunt Brooke a hug.

"Hey sweetie" Brooke says smiling at her "How about we watch some TV"

"Sounds good" Sawyer says lying in the middle of the bed and Peyton walks around and gets on the other side of the bed.

The three are lying there sound to sleep when Lucas and Julian walk in. They both sigh.

"Want to make them some burgers for lunch?" Julian say smiling at the fact that his wife was finally sleeping.

"Sounds good" Lucas replies following him outside

"Brooke didn't sleep at all last night" Julian sighs "She's pretty worked up about Peyton"

"Yea, Peyton has slept much either and neither have I" Lucas sighs

"How are you holding up with the news?" Julian asks lighting the grill

"Honestly" Lucas sighs "I'm scared shitless. I can't live without Peyton. She's my life. The kids and I can't do it without her. I can't raise them by myself." He says stopping because he's chocking up

Julian sighs and pats him on the shoulder "I know what you mean, man. I couldn't do it without Brooke but you're doing amazing. Last night you were very supportive"

"I'm trying" Lucas replies "I don't want her to see how worried I am when she's worried enough herself. I just keep on supporting her and when I'm alone I break down"

"Well if you need anything at all man I'm here for ya"

"Thanks" Lucas says with a smile

The backdoor opens and Peyton walks out onto the deck. "What are you two up too?"

"We're making some lunch" Lucas says walking over and kissing her

Peyton self consciously plays with her hair

"You look beautiful baby"

Peyton just smiles

"I noticed your haircut earlier but I was in such a hurry I didn't have chance to tell you how cute it looks" Julian says smiling

"You like it?" Peyton asks surprised

"Yes" Julian says "It's really cute"

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling

Brooke walks out onto the deck too

"What are all of you guys doing?"

"Making burgers" Julian says smiling "Why don't you two just go inside and relax"

"Ok, thanks" Brooke says grabbing Peyton's arm and pulling her inside.

They all spend the afternoon hanging out and Sawyer spent time with Brooke. Peyton was glad about that. Lucas, Peyton and Sawyer left so they could get home and get Ellie off the bus.

When they got home Peyton was tired and Lucas made dinner. While he was doing that Peyton helped the kids with their homework. The night went on like every other night and once again they found themselves in bed.

When they woke up the next morning Lucas was concerned when he walked into the bathroom and found Peyton sitting on the floor crying. He rushed over to her and dropped down next to her.

"What's the matter?" He asks softly

She takes his hand and rubs it along the inside of her left breast. He felt a large mass there.

"Is that new?"

Peyton just shakes her head yes.

Lucas sighs "It's ok baby" He says kissing her forehead "We have the PET scan this morning and then we'll know what we're dealing with and how we're going to deal with it"

Peyton just shakes her head and he kisses her again "Come on" he says softly "Let me help you into the shower.

The two shower together in silence. Lucas hold Peyton while she cries. Once they are out and dressed Peyton gets the girls up and ready for school while Lucas makes breakfast. Everyone is eating except Peyton because she can't because of her scan. The table is quiet and Sawyer can tell that her mom is upset.

"Hey mama" Sawyer says in a cheerful voice

"Yea" Peyton says dully

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine" Peyton snaps

Sawyer just puts her head down and takes a bite of her breakfast.

Sawyer sighs and looks up at her mom "I can't tell you're not fine, mama, and it looks like you've been crying"

Peyton sighs "Baby, don't worry about me ok? You need to focus on school and being a child."

"Ok" Sawyer says sadly

"You guys almost done?" Lucas asks as cheerful as possible

"I'm done" Ellie says jumping down from the table

"Sawyer?" Lucas asks

"Yea, I'm done" She sighs

"Ok, go brush your teeth" Lucas tells them and they run towards the stairs. He sits down next to Peyton and just squeezes her hand.

"I don't know if it's wise to stay here around the kids" she says softly

"It would be worse if you went somewhere else"

"I could go stay with my mom"

"No!" Lucas says "You are not going to be away from me or the kids! We're your family and we're going to do this together"

Peyton sighs "Ok"

The girls come running into the kitchen and grab their lunch.

"Bye mama" Ellie says hugging Peyton

"Bye sweetie" Peyton says hugging her back

"Bye daddy" she says walking over and hugging Lucas. Lucas hugs her back "I love you guys!" She adds skipping towards the door

Sawyer just gets her stuff without saying anything. Peyton sighs.

"Come here" she says to Sawyer and Sawyer obeys

"What?" She says pouting

"I'm sorry I snapped at you" Peyton says "I'm just worried about my test today"

Sawyer wraps her arms around Peyton as tightly as she can "Me too" she whispers into Peyton's ear

Peyton just hugs Sawyer as a tear runs down her face. "You better get going" Peyton sighs "I love you, baby"

"Love you too, mama" Sawyer says "Bye daddy. See you after school. Love you"

"Love you both" Lucas says and the girls walk out the door

Peyton gets up and follows them.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asks

"They don't like me to stand out there with them but I stand here every day until the bus picks them up"

Lucas smiles at her "You're a great mother, Peyton Scott!"

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling

They both stand there and wait for the bus to come and pick up the girls. Peyton then goes and does some house work while Lucas watches to see what she does.

"Every day I do something different." Peyton sighs "I do the wash every day so it doesn't pile up but then I clean different things every day"

Lucas looks at her funny

"For example" Peyton sighs "On Monday I wash all the sheets and put fresh sheets on the bed. We're not as good with baths and being clean on the weekend so it's best to have fresh linens on Monday"

"That's smart" Lucas says smiling

"Since I'm already in the bedrooms on Monday I clean them from top to bottom. I dust everything, vacuum, wash the walls, put all the girls stuff away from the weekend, etc"

"Wow" Lucas says "You do all of that on Monday"

"Yeah" Peyton sighs "Then Tuesday I clean all the bathrooms in the house. I wash the toilets, sinks and bathtubs restock the toilet paper, check all the bathroom supplies to add to the list, and mop the floors"

"What do you do Wednesday?" Lucas asks

"Wednesday I go to the grocery store, take Emery to a play group and clean the kitchen. I wash the fridge, mop the floor, clean the cupboards and counter tops with bleach, wash the sink, clean the oven and once a mouth I run the dishwasher with cleaner. Thursdays I clean the living room, dining room, your study and all the other rooms. Friday I bake and tidy up all the rooms. Usually I vacuum every room every day"

"Wow" Lucas sighs "I never knew all of that. I just knew you kept the house looking nice and tidy every day"

"I used to try to tidy everything every day and it was too much. I changed the sheet 3 times a week and decided that that was insane so after Emery I just make a schedule and stuck to it. I only change things if we have something going on that the house needs to look different"

"You're an amazing housewife, Peyt"

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling

"So today we bake then?"

"Yeah" Peyton says smiling "I better make some cookies I think Sawyer's missing them"

"I'm missing them too" Lucas says smiling

"You can help me when we get back"

"sounds like a plan" Lucas says smiling at her

"We should probably get going"

Lucas nods and gets to find Emery who is doing a puzzle in the playroom. "Come on buddy" He says smiling "We have to go"

Lucas helps Peyton get Emery's stuff together and then the head out to the car. They drop him off with Nathan and then head to the hospital. They go to the x-ray department and Peyton signs in. They sit and then wait for Peyton to be called.

Lucas sighs "Do you want to take a trip together?" he asks "Just the two of us?"

"I'd love that, Luke" she sighs "But I think we should wait and see what's going to happen"

"Ok" Lucas says taking her hand

"Luke" Peyton says looking at him

"Yea, honey?"

"I love you"

"I love you too" Lucas says leaning over and kissing her

A nurse walks out "Peyton"

Peyton stands up and walks towards the nurse. They already told Lucas he had to stay out in the waiting room while Peyton was being injected with the radioactive substance and once it was in her system they would take him back to wait with her.

"Hi Peyton" The nurse says smiling "I'm Mary and I'm going to be taking care of you today. First we have inject the radioactive substance into your body and it's going to take 60 minutes for you to absorb it. Once that happens we'll do the PET scan which will take another 30 minutes."

"Ok" Peyton sighs following the nurse. She takes Peyton into a room with three chairs in it.

"This is one of our chemo rooms" Mary says smiling "You'll probably be here quite often after this scan"

Peyton just nods

"Have a seat in whatever chair you'd like and I'll be right back to start the substance"

"Ok" Peyton says walking over and sitting down. She didn't want to get used to this place. She didn't want to have to spend hours a day here and she didn't want to be sitting there alone. She wanted Lucas to be there with her. She didn't realize how much she had started to depend on his support until right now when she was sitting alone.

Mary walks back in carrying a tray. "Once we finish the injection I'll bring your husband back"

"Ok, thank you" Peyton says

"You're going to feel a little poke and then you're going to feel a very cold sensation. It will probably feel like ice is running through your veins. I will get you a blanket if you get cold you can wrap up in it"

"Thanks" Peyton sighs

The nurse slowly inserts the needle into Peyton's arm and it hurt more than just a little. Mary was also right she was feeling very cold. She grabbed the blanket and wrapped herself in it. It felt like the transfusion was taking forever but within 15 minutes Lucas walks into the room.

"Hey babe" He says walking over and kissing her

"I'm freezing" Peyton says

"Ok, I'll go get you another blanket" Lucas says walking out of the room returning a few moments later with a blanket. He wrapped it around her and sat down next to her. "How are you doing?"

"I'm ok" Peyton says "I'm kind of hungry"

"I know and I'll take you to eat as soon as we get done"

"Thanks" Peyton smiles at him "Mary said this is one of the chemo rooms"

Lucas looks around "It's nice" he says "And it looks like they have a chair for a visitor as well"

"I noticed that"

"I'll come with you every time"

"Not if you have to go somewhere with the kids"

"Then Brooke or Julian or Nathan or someone will come with you"

"Ok" Peyton says. She just couldn't believe this was happening. She couldn't believe she wasn't even thirty and she was facing cancer. She didn't know how to handle this. She didn't want to spend months sitting in this room in these chairs but she certainly didn't want to die!

"We should have a date night tomorrow" Lucas says "We can get all dressed up and go out to dinner and then go out and do something fun"

"I'd like that" Peyton says smiling

"Ok, I'll see if Chloe can babysit tomorrow night"

"It's that your star basketball player's girlfriend?"

"Yea" Lucas says "I thought you liked her"

"I do except when she's making out on our couch with Brock on the couch in our living room!"

Lucas laughs.

"Oh my gosh!" Peyton says all of a sudden

"What's wrong?" Lucas asks worry filling his face

"It's Friday!" She says "You have a game tonight!"

"I know" Lucas says "Skillz is going to handle it"

"Absolutely not!" Peyton says "You need to be there"

"I'll stay at home with you"

"No" Peyton sighs "No, no, no!" I can handle you staying home with me during the day but I cannot handle you giving up your basketball"

"Peyton" Lucas says sternly "Your cancer is not only going to be during the day! It's going to affect you all the time and you can't be home alone"

"Well I'm not on chemo tonight so you can go to the game!"

"Peyt" Lucas sighs "We don't know if this stuff will make you sick or not"

"No, we don't so there's no reason to just sit around waiting to see. The kids and I will come to the game with you"

"You'll be tired"

"So what" Peyton snaps "We're all going!"

Lucas just sighs not wanting to fight with her. The hour was up and Mary walks back into the room.

"We're going to go ahead and go into the PET scan room"

Peyton stands up and follows Mary into the room. There was a large machine that looked like a doughnut standing upright.

"You're going to lie on the narrow table and it's going to go into the opening of the machine. You have to lie perfectly still or the images will be blurred and we'll have to do them again"

"I understand" Peyton sighs as she lies on the table.

Lucas sits in the chair in the room. Peyton lays perfectly still on the table and the machine scans around her body. Mary stands watching the computer to make sure the scan is going well. Lucas watches it too trying to figure out what it means but not sure. He notices that certain areas look different than others and he wonders what that meant. He was a nervous wreck. His stomach hurt. He didn't like what he was seeing but he didn't want to get too worked up because he didn't know what it meant.

His eyes never left the screen and when it when blank he blinked.

"We're done" Mary says to both Peyton and Lucas as she withdraws the table from the machine. We have to send the results to be read and because it's Friday the results won't be ready until Tuesday or Wednesday. Dr. Jenkins will call you when she gets the results"

"Thank you" Peyton says

"Have a good weekend" Mary says

"Thanks" Peyton sighs

Lucas and Peyton walk out of the room and out of the hospital. She sighs and grabs his hand.

"What did you see?" She asks him quietly

"Huh?" Lucas asks not because he was lost in his own thoughts

"What did you see on the screen? You had a perfect view of it"

"Honey, I wouldn't know how to explain to you what I saw. It was just a lot of different colors all over the place. We'll just have to wait and see what Dr. Jenkins says"

"Ok" Peyton sighs "Maybe once we see the results if I have to have another scan you'll be able to read it"

"Maybe" Lucas says smiling at her "You still hungry?"

"Starving" Peyton says

"Then let's go have some lunch"

"Sounds good"

Lucas and Peyton get into the car and drive to the local diner. They get out and walk in. As they are getting a table Lucas' phone rings. He answers it.

"Hello" He says into the phone and pauses to listen. He nods at what the other person is saying. "Skillz, yes you can handle things tonight. You know you can what's wrong?" he pauses and listens again "You're insane" he says rolling his eyes "Well then wear them inside out and it will all be fine" she says laughing and shaking his head. "Ok, ok" he's cut off and pauses "I'll be there" pausing "Yes, I promise. Good-bye" he says handing up the phone

"What was that about?" Peyton asks

"Skillz is worried that if I'm not there the team will lose because he thinks I have something to do with their luck and I missed the game last week and they lost so now he's determined that I be there"

"See" Peyton says "You need to be there"

"I'll go tonight because you can still go with me but when you are too sick to go I'm not going anymore and that's that! You're so much more important than basketball and if we don't make the playoffs this year we don't make the playoffs"

Peyton rolls her eyes and the waitress comes over and they order. They eat lunch and then go home and take a nap with Emery. Before they know it the girls are home and it's time to head out for the basketball game.

The little family walks into the gym to see the guys warming up. Lucas walks over to Skillz and Peyton and the kids go and get their normal seats in the stand. Sawyer sits reading a book while Ellie paces back and forth as the guys warm up. Emery sits on Peyton's lap hugging her because he's having a hard time being away from her so much.

As it gets closer to game time the stands begin to fill up. Brooke, Julian, Davis, Jude, Haley, Nathan and Jamie all show up.

"Hey" Brooke says "We didn't think we'd see you guys here."

"Lucas needs to coach his team and I'm fine right now and insisted that he be here"

"Well it's great to see you guys here" Haley says with a tinge of sadness in her voice

"How'd it go today?" Nathan asks not wanting to avoid the question everyone was dying to ask

"We won't know until next week"

"What are they taking so long to figure this all out?" Brooke says angrily

"I don't know" Peyton sighs "I asked Lucas what he saw because he sat and watched the screen and he said that he didn't understand it and couldn't tell me"

"It's so frustrating" Haley sighs "We just want to be able to help you and for you to get better"

"Me too" Peyton says "I'm scared and I'm tired of waiting"

Nathan sits down next to her and hugs her "We're all here for you, Peyt"

"I know" She says softly "But the unknown is what's hard right now"

"How's Lucas been?" Julian asks

"A rock" Peyton says "I found another mass this morning and he just held me and didn't break or anything. He just told me it would be ok and when he says that I believe him. He makes me feel safe and he's been so supportive. He's a good man"

"He sure is!" Haley says smiling

"He wants to go out tomorrow night" Peyton sighs "He's trying so hard to keep my mind off of things"

"We can keep the kids" Haley says "We were planning on taking Jamie to a movie and for pizza so we'd be doing something fun. In fact" she says excitedly "How about we keep them over night for you?"

"I don't know" Peyton says "Our three kids that's a lot to ask"

Haley laughs "You didn't ask, I offered and you better say yes!"

Peyton smiles "That sounds good" she says softly turning to Brooke "And when are you going to get that baby out of you?"

Brooke rolls her eyes "Don't even get me started! The doctor told us today that if I'm not in labor by Monday I'm going in for a c-section"

"Well hopefully your water will break over the weekend" Peyton says "Have sex" she says with a smile

"We have every single day several times and nothing" Brooke says with a smile

"Brooke!" Julian says turning red

The buzzer rings and the game starts. Everyone was into the game. They cheered and clapped and watched as the Ravens won.

After the game everyone talked for a few minutes and Peyton and the kids waited for Lucas. He comes out smiling at his family.

"Good game coach!" Peyton yells to him across the court

"Thanks, beautiful" he says walking up to her and kissing her

"I think they do need you" she says kissing his forehead

"How are you feeling?" He asks

"Ok" Peyton says "Haley and Nathan are going to keep the kids tomorrow night so we can go out and they're going to keep them over night"

"Wow" Lucas says "That's great!"

"That's what I thought" Peyton says kissing him softly. She pulls away and smiles at him "How about some postgame pizza and beer?"

"Sounds great" Lucas says "Come on kids" he yells to his children who are playing on the basketball court.

The little family walks out of the gym and the school. They looked like the perfect family and that nothing in the world was wrong. Too bad Lucas was thinking that he had to make tomorrow night special because it might be the last romantic night with his wife in a long time and Peyton was thinking about how it would probably be the last time she and Lucas have sex because she'd probably die soon. Appearances can be deceiving and the truth behind the smiles can be heartbreaking…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Peyton is standing in front of the mirror. She is trying to decide how to do her hair for her date tonight with Lucas. She walks out and picks up her phone. She sends a text.

_Help! My hair is a disaster!_

She hits send and waits for a response.

_Be over it 10!_

She smiles and lies down on the bed. Nathan and Haley had picked up the kids and Lucas ran out to take care of some things so she was home alone. She sighs and gets up walking into her closet. She looks at all her dresses and sighs. She really had turned into a boring housewife with nothing to wear.

The doorbell rings and she hears the door open and close.

"P. Scott!" Brooke yells walking towards the bedroom

"In here" Peyton yells

Brooke walks into the room carrying a bag and looking at Peyton.

"I'm here to fix you up!" Brooke says smiling at her

"Thanks" Peyton says sheepishly "I don't know what to do with this hair"

"It's ok" Brooke says "I'll help you"

"Thanks"

"Come on" she says walking into the bathroom and plugging in her curling iron and rollers.

"I'm scared" Peyton says sitting down on the bench in her bathroom

"I won't hurt you" Brooke says smiling trying to lighten the mood

"I'm not scared of you" Peyton says smiling "Well maybe a little"

"I know what you mean" Brooke sighs "I'm terrified. Ask Julian. I cry myself to sleep every night. You're my best friend and the strong one. How am I supposed to be brave and supportive when all I want to do is crawl up on the couch lay my head on your lap and cry myself to sleep"

Peyton smiles at her "That's funny because that's all I want to do too. I just want to cry and cry and cry"

"Then go ahead!" Brooke says looking at her "You have cancer! You have a right to cry"

"I have shed tears but I can't cry in front of the kids. I need to be strong for them and Lucas is being so wonderful I don't want to make it harder on him but being an emotional wreck"

"Peyton" Brooke says "Don't be silly! It's ok to not always be the strong one. It's ok to cry it's ok to let your children see you cry. You can't be brave all the time. You're sick, honey, and you're only going to get sicker. Your babies are going to see you weak and crying and throwing up. They're going to have to watch your hair fall out and you get super skinny. And I know it sucks but you have to have your emotions. You can shut everything out and act like nothing's wrong"

Peyton gets up and hugs Brooke "I'm so glad you're my best friend!" she says with tears in her eyes

"Hey" Brooke says wrapping her arms around Peyton "I love you! You know that and I'm going to be here for you even if I'm crying my eyes out the whole time I'm here. I'm going to help you through this. We all are. We're here for you so stop trying to act all tough and let us help you"

Peyton wipes her eyes and sits back down "Well you can help me right now by making me look beautiful for my date with my husband"

Brooke smiles and lies her hand on Peyton's cheek "Honey, you are beautiful!"

"I'm not going to be for much longer"

"You'll always be beautiful, Peyt"

"I wish I believed that"

Brooke takes a deep breath and hugs Peyton. "Let's get you ready for your hot date" she says with a tear in her eye

Peyton smiles at Brooke and she gets to work. She curls Peyton's hair slowly and in loose curls like it always was when she was in high school. She then pins the side up with a beautiful comb and hands Peyton a mirror.

"What do you think?" Brooke asks with a smile

"Wow!" Peyton says with a smile "How'd you do that?"

"Time and a curling iron"

"It looks really good! You can barely tell that I cut it all off"

"It will grow" Brooke sighs "Eventually"

Peyton just nods.

"Did you shave?" Brooke asks

"Yes, I shaved my legs and armpits!" Peyton says rolling her eyes

"No, Peyt" Brooke sighs "Not those areas. Did you shave the promise land?"

Peyton laughs "I took care of it" she says still smiling "He'll have a clear path to the promise land"

Both women start laughing.

"Then we need to do your face"

"Ok" Peyton says as she let Brooke layer on a light but stunning layer of make-up.

Brooke hands Peyton the mirror again.

"You're hired!" Peyton says "You'll have to be my cancer beautician"

"You got it!"

"I made you something" Brooke says "I was going to give it to you for the Annual Money Burn at Nathan and Haley's but I think it would be better suited for tonight"

Peyton smiles "How'd you have time to make a dress?"

"How do you have time to bake cookies?"

Peyton just nods at her.

"Come on" Brooke says smiling "I can't wait to see you in it"

Peyton follows Brooke into the bedroom. Brooke takes the bag off the bed and unzips it. She takes out the most stunning dress that Peyton has ever seen. The dress was fitted at the chest and flowed down from there. It was red and will stop right about Peyton's knees. There was only one strap on it that went across her right breast over her left shoulder. The dress was beautiful.

"Brooke" Peyton says trying not to tear up "It's amazing"

"And you're going to look amazing in it. Now go put it on and there are shoes and some jewelry in the bag"

Peyton takes the dress and the bag and goes into the closet. She finds some underwear in there too. Underwear she'd never wear but Lucas would enjoy. She gets dress making sure every detail is perfect and then she walks out to let Brooke take a look.

"Wow!" Brooke says starting at her "You look… wow"

"Really?" Peyton asks nervously

"Lucas is going to want to take you out of that dress the minute he gets here. He's going to be a lucky man tonight"

Peyton smiles "That's the plan" she says as the smile fades off her face

"What's wrong?"

"Well I have to satisfy him tonight because once chemo and everything else starts who knows if I'll be about to again anytime soon. May be I should encourage him to find it elsewhere"

"Peyton Elizabeth Scott!" Brooke yells "Your husband loves you more than life it's self and there is no way in hell he's going to find it elsewhere as you put it. He is going to be here for you and he has two hands if he needs them"

A small smile graces Peyton's face.

"You know I'm right!" Brooke hisses

"I know" Peyton sighs

"Well I better get going before Julian goes insane with the boys"

"Thanks for coming over and helping me" Peyton says walking over and hugging Brooke

"Anytime" Brooke says hugging her back "You look beautiful"

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling "I hope Lucas enjoys it"

"He will" Brooke says

The two girls walk towards the door and hug one more time before Brooke walks out and leaves.

Brooke couldn't have been to the end of the road when the door opens again.

"Peyt?" Lucas yells

"In the kitchen" She yells back

Lucas walks in and stops in the doorway "Wow!" He says as his eyes bug out of his head "You look absolutely stunning. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen"

Peyton blushes "Oh you're just saying that so I'll give you what you want later"

Lucas walks closer "No, I'm not, Peyt" he says staring at her "You are radiate! You're breathtaking." He adds and he moves closer and kisses her neck on the side without a strap.

Peyton moans lightly and Lucas smiles

"I better go get ready" He whispers in her ear lightly sucking on her neck but not leaving a mark.

Peyton's knees went weak as Lucas walked away. He still did it to her after all these years. He made her feel like the most beautiful, important woman in the world.

Peyton stands in the kitchen continuing to sip the wine she'd poured and snacking on the cheese and crackers she had put out. She can hear the shower running and smiles at the fact that she knows Lucas is standing in it naked. This was the first time the fact that she had cancer wasn't consuming her brain. She was excited to spend the night alone with her husband and just be husband and wife and she was going to try so very hard to keep the topic off of her cancer. They had been dealing with it 24 7 since her diagnosis and tonight they were kid free and together and that hadn't happened in a long time.

The time got away from her as she thought about the wonderful time they were going to have and she didn't realize the shower had stopped. She heard Lucas walking down the hallway and a smile filled her face. She loved him more than anything in the world except their children. But that was a different kind of love. She was excited to feel his arms wrapped around her in a passionate way instead of a supportive way and she was excited to be with him really with him.

He walks into the kitchen and this time it was her eyes that bugged out. He was wearing his tux which he only wore when he absolutely had to and he looked so very sexy.

"Wow" She said "You are one sexy man!"

He smiles at her "Thank you" he says in a low seductive voice. He walks over and turns her to face him. He kisses her softly and then nibbles her ear before whispering "If I hadn't spent all afternoon planning this evening I'd order and pizza and get you out of this dress right now"

Even after all these years Peyton still blushes at his words. He loved that about her and he grabs her lips again with his.

"But don't worry" He adds softly "Before the night ends I'll have you out of it"

"Lucas!" Peyton says hitting him playfully on the chest

He just smiles and picks up her glass of wine and takes a drink.

"Do you want to stay here a little longer and have a drink?" Lucas asks "Or are you ready to go?"

"Whatever you want to do" Peyton says

"Well I see you've put out cheese and crackers like we're having people over"

Peyton rolls her eyes at him because he was teasing her "I can't help it, Luke!" she says "You know I always am prepared" she says turning away from him to pour more wine in her glass.

He pushes his body into her and wraps his arms around her waist kissing her neck before once again whispering in her ear "That's one of the things I love about you" he says and then kisses his way down her neck and across her shoulder.

Peyton couldn't believe how seductive he was being. They hadn't been like this in a long time. They never had a change for foreplay. It was wham bam thank you m'am most of the time now. Neither ever complained because their lives were crazy and they mad she to make time for intimacy but they never just had time to be intimate.

"We could stay and have a drink, first" She says turning and pushing herself into him in all the right places. His eyes widen. He was enjoying this. It was like they were horny teenagers again.

"We better get going because if we stay here we might not make it out of the house"

Peyton smiles at him as she puts the cork back in the bottle of wine and then wraps the cheese up so the kids can eat it tomorrow. She walks to the door where she grabs her purse and Lucas opens the door for her. She kisses him softly and walks out to the yard. A huge smile crosses her face. Sitting in the driveway was his dad's mustang washed and shined.

"It's like senior prom" Peyton says

"I hope it's better than senior prom tonight" Lucas sighs "If I recall that night wasn't that great"

"We were together so it was great"

Lucas walks over and opens the car door for Peyton she slides in and he shuts it behind her. He walks around the car and gets in. He starts the car and backs out onto the road taking off.

"Where are we going?" Peyton asks

"It's a surprise" Lucas says reaching over and grabbing her hand entwining their fingers.

"Lucas, you know I'm not fond of surprises"

"Well tonight you're just going to have to deal with it tonight" He says smiling lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing it

Peyton pretends to pout and Lucas smiles at her. He likes that she's being carefree and that the worry lines have eased off her face a little. He just wants her to relax and have a good time tonight. He drives until they reach the road for the Rivercourt. Peyton looks at him funny.

"Trust me"

Peyton just smiles at him. He pulls down towards the Rivercourt and Peyton's eyes went wide. She couldn't believe her eyes. There were twinkle lights everywhere. It looks beautiful.

"How did you do this?" Peyton asks

"This is what I was doing today. Julian helped me"

"Wow!" Peyton says "It's beautiful"

"I'm glad you like it" Lucas says pulling the car to the edge of the Rivercourt and parking it.

There is a tent on the middle of the court.

"Lucas" she gasps "You are amazing!"

He smiles at her and gets out of the car. He walks around to Peyton's side and opens her door. He offers her his hand and helps her out. They walk over to the tent and he opens the flap so she can walk in. Inside is draped with lights and there's a table with roses on it.

"I thought we'd have dinner here tonight" Lucas smiles

Peyton kisses him and he leads her over to the table pulling out her chair. She sits down and he pours her a glass of wine. He then goes over to a little table where there are some things sitting including a warming tray. He walks back carrying two bowls of salad and breadsticks.

"I can't believe you did all this"

"Well I wanted to do something special tonight but I also wanted to have you all to myself." He says sitting down

"I'm so lucky to be married to you" Peyton says smiling

"No, I'm the lucky one" Lucas says taking a bite of his salad

The two sit and eat their salads.

"I'm so glad you suggested this" Peyton says "We haven't been alone in so long and I've forgotten how nice it can be to just be Lucas and Peyton again"

Lucas smiles at her "We hit the grounding running didn't we? We got married out of high school and had kids right after that. We're not even 30 yet and sometimes I feel like we're super old."

"I know" Peyton sighs "But I wouldn't trade our life for anything"

"Me either" Lucas says "We have the best life, don't we?"

"We do" Peyton says

They finish their salads and then Lucas clears the plates and opens the warmer where he lasagna waiting. He serves it up and carried the plates back to the table. He sat them down and then filled up their glasses again with wine.

"Did you make this?" Peyton asks

Lucas smiles "Um, no" he said "Because you know it would never be as good as yours. I took your recipe and had Haley make it. I hopes it's ok?"

Peyton takes a bite of it "Mmmm" she says smiling "It's perfect. This whole meal has been perfect"

Lucas smiles at her "We're just getting started"

"Oh really?" Peyton asks

"Really" Lucas says eating his dinner "I say that the rec center is offering a Kindergarten thru first grade girls basketball clinic and I was thinking maybe we should sign Ellie up"

"She'd love that" Peyton says smiling "Do they have some kind art class? I think we should sign Sawyer up for something too"

"They are offering a lot of activities. I just know about the basketball because they called me and asked if I could send some players to help. I'll swing by there Monday and pick up a flyer and we can see if there is something Sawyer would be interested in"

"Sounds great" Peyton says smiling

The two chat about things as they eat their dinner and then Lucas clears away everything on the table and moves it to the side. He then turns some music on and walks over to Peyton who's still sitting in the chair watching him.

"May I have this dance?"

Peyton laughs "We haven't danced since Julian and Brooke's wedding!"

"Well I don't think it's been that long" Lucas says giving her a funny look "So does that mean you won't dance with me?"

"No, I'll dance with you" Peyton says getting up

Lucas smiles and pulls her very close to him. As they dance around to the music Peyton rests her head against Lucas' shoulder. She sighs at his smell. She always loved the way he smelled. He leans down and kisses her neck softly.

"I love you" He whispers into her ear

"I love you too" She says looking at him

He leans down and kisses her on the lips. She opens her mouth and he slides his tongue in. The two stand there and make out like teenagers. Lucas pulls away to catch his breath.

"Wow" Peyton says panting

"Wow, is right" He adds "How about the two of us get out of here"

Peyton looks at him and smiles "I thought you'd never ask"

He grabs her hand and they get back into his car. Julian and Nathan were going to come back and take care of the Rivercourt for him so he didn't have to worry about it. Peyton was confused when Lucas went the opposite of their house.

"Where are we going?"

"Peyton!" Lucas says

"Let me guess" she sighs "It's a surprise"

"Yes, now sit back and relax!"

Peyton rests her head against the headrest of the car and enjoys the ride. Lucas drives across town and pulls into the hotel parking lot.

"What are we doing here?" Peyton asks

"We're staying here tonight" Lucas says parking the car and smiling at Peyton

"We live across town, Luke" she says looking at him funny

"I know but I thought it would be nice to get out of the house for a night"

He opens his door and gets out. He walks around and opens her door. He once again takes her hand and helps her out of the car. They walk into building and Lucas leads her towards the elevator.

"Don't we need to check in?" Peyton asks

"Nope" Lucas says smiling and Peyton just smiles back at him.

They ride the elevator to the top floor and get out. Lucas leads Peyton to the suite at the end of the hall. He opens the door and lets her go in first.

She is amazed at what she sees. There is champagne chilling next to a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream. The floor is covered with rose petals and so is the bed. There are candles burning around the room.

"This is so nice" Peyton says turning and kissing Lucas on the mouth

"You like it?"

"I love it!" Peyton says smiling

"Follow me" Lucas says leading her into the bathroom.

There was a huge tub in the there. It was full of steaming water and bubbles. Candles were also lit in there and music was playing softly.

"I thought we'd soak in a bath"

"Great idea" Peyton says "I don't have anything to wear after"

Lucas smiles and walks to the closet in the room. He pulls out a hanger with a silk nightgown hanging on it. It was red and it was cut low in the front and low in the back. It would hang to the floor when Peyton but it on.

"That's beautiful" Peyton says

"Brooke" Lucas says "She picked it out"

"She did a good job"

"There's a small bag of things in the bathroom if you want to pull your hair up or anything"

Peyton walks into the bathroom and finds the bag. She takes the clip that's in it and swipes the little bit of hair she has up and then she slowly undoes her dress and lets it fall to the floor as she knows Lucas is watching her from the door. She then slips off her underwear and turns to face him naked. He smiles at her and walks over.

"You're beautiful" He says leaning down and kissing her

"And you're wearing way too many clothes" Peyton teases reaching for his belt and undoing it.

Lucas quickly undresses and the two get into the bath together. Lucas sits against the wall of the tub and Peyton leans against him resting her head against him.

"This feels nice" Peyton says kissing his neck

"We never get time like this anymore"

"I know and it's wonderful"

Lucas runs his hand up and down Peyton's arm. She aroused by the sensation.

"You are so beautiful" he says

A frown replaces the smile that was there.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No" Peyton sighs

"Then way are upset?"

Peyton sighs "I'm just sitting her naked and you said how beautiful I am"

Lucas looks at her funny "You are beautiful"

"But I'm not…"

"Oh Peyton!" Lucas says "I wasn't even looking at your breasts! I was looking at your face and you are beautiful"

She smiles at him and turns to face him. She kisses him hard and he opens his mouth. She slides her tongue in and they start kissing passionately. After a few minutes like this Lucas stands up and gets out of the tub. He wraps a towel around himself and holds one up for Peyton.

"I'm not done in here!" She says

Lucas smiles at her "Well honey I'm ready to move to the bed"

Peyton laughs a little looking at him "I can tell"

"Shut up and get out right now!" He says

Peyton smiles at him "Wait I have to get ready!" she says softly "Don't you want to see me in that red sexy number"

"I did" Lucas says "But you're naked now so I think I'll just take you to bed"

Peyton stands up and he wraps the towel around her. She steps out of the tub hitting the drain as she gets out. Lucas grabs her and pulls her close to him. He kisses her and then sweeps her off her feet. He carries her to the bed and places her softly on it.

He lowers himself down over her. He is resting on his elbows so all his weight isn't on her. He kisses her softly and she moans into it. Lucas smiles as he kisses her. He moves down her jawline and to her neck. He kisses and sucks it softly trying to not leave marks.

"I love you" He whispers into her ear "And I'll always love you no matter what. You are the most beautiful woman I know and nothing will change that" he says as he goes to kiss her collarbone.

With that gesture Peyton was gone. That was her favorite place to be kissed. Lucas kisses her there a little longer and then goes to move lower. Peyton's hands come up to stop him.

"What's wrong?" He asks

"Don't" She says

"Don't what?" Lucas asks

"Please just don't touch them"

"Peyton" Lucas says looking at her

"Please" She says with tears in her eyes

"Ok" He says kissing her again

Lucas continues exploring Peyton and she in returns explores him. Before long the two are making the most passionate love they've made in a long time both finding their climax at the same time. Lucas collapses on the bed and pulls Peyton over to him. She rests her head on his chest as her breathing returns to normal.

"I'm scared" she breaths softly

"I'm scared too" Lucas says rubbing up and down her arm "I can't do this without you" he adds softly

"I can't fight this without you"

"You don't have too"

"Let's hope you don't have to either" Peyton says kissing his chest

Lucas squeezes her tightly and she closes her eyes. They both drift off to sleep holding each other tightly. It was a wonderful night and it might be the last one they ever share.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"What does cancer mean?" Ellie asks Sawyer walking into her sister's room and jumping on the bed.

Sawyer looks at her "What do you mean?" she replies

"I asked my teacher what cancer was and she told me that it makes people sick and sometimes they die from it"

"Your teacher told you that?" Sawyer asks putting down her sketch pad seeing that her little sister was upset.

"Yes, and then she told me to go back to my seat and do my writing practice"

"Come here" Sawyer says and Ellie crawls closer to her sister and Sawyer wraps her arms around her

"Is mommy going to die?" Ellie asks with a scared look in her face

Sawyer sighs "I don't know" she pauses "She might"

"I don't want mommy to die!" Ellie says with tears in her eyes

"I don't either but if she does I'll take care of you" Sawyer knew she needed to take care of her brother and sister if anything ever happened to her mom because he dad wouldn't know what to do.

Ellie cuddles into her sister even more. She was scared. "So can you tell me what cancer means?"

Sawyer sighs "Get up for a minute" she says and Ellie sits up. Sawyer gets off her bed and walks over picking up her iPad mini off her desk. She walks back over and sits with her sister "We'll google it" she adds

Ellie smiles "Ok" she says

Sawyer takes a few minutes and googles the word cancer. She reads a little bit before sighs and looking at her sister.

"It says here" she starts "Cancer: a name for the more than 100 diseases in which cells that are not normal grow and divide quickly. These abnormal cells usually develop into a tumor (or mass or lump). Cancer can also spread to other parts of the body from where it started. Certain kinds of cancers can grow in places like the bone marrow, where they don't make a tumor."

"What kind of cancer does mommy have?"

"She has the kind that makes lumps in her"

"How do you know that?" Ellie asks

"I heard her telling Aunt Brooke she has lumps in her breasts"

"So she has cancer in her boobies?" Ellie asks

Sawyer laughs a little "Yes, she does"

"Does she have it anywhere else?"

"I don't know" Sawyer says truthfully "I've been trying to listen to her when she's talking to daddy and Aunt Brooke but she hasn't said anything about it"

"How do you know all this?"

"I have been reading a lot about cancer on the internet and like I said I've been listening to mommy and daddy and Aunt Brooke talk"

"What else do you know?" Ellie asks looking at her sister

"Well mommy's going to probably have to have chemotherapy"

"That's the stuff that's going to make her sick right?"

"Right and her hair fallout"

"Oh yea I remember her telling us that"

There's a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Sawyer says

"It's me" Peyton says from the other side of the door

"Come in" Sawyer says

Peyton walks in and see Ellie and Sawyer sitting on the bed. Ellie is cuddled in Sawyer's arms and they're both looking at Sawyer's iPad.

"What are you two doing?" Peyton asks walking over towards them

Ellie looks scared and Sawyer sighs "We're talking about cancer"

Peyton frowns and sits on the bed with them "What about cancer?" she asks

"Ellie's teacher told her that you're going to die from your cancer"

"What?!" Peyton asks surprised

"I asked her what cancer was and she told me that it makes people sick and sometimes they die"

"Ellie's scared you're going to die"

Peyton sighs "You two know you can come and talk to me about anything" she says softly "I don't want you two to be scared because I'm sick. If you want to know something ask me"

Ellie looks at her "Mommy, are you going to die?"

Peyton sits with her back to the wall and holds her arms out so both girls come and sit on each side of her. She squeezes them tightly.

"I don't want to die" Peyton says "But your teacher was right sometimes people who have cancer die. I am going to do everything I can to live a long long time"

"Can we go with you when you get your chemo?" Ellie asks crawling even closer to her mother

"No, honey" Peyton says "It's not a place for children. There's no TV and nothing to do there"

"Peyton" Lucas yells from the front door as he walks in

"Up here" She answers.

Lucas appears at the door of the Sawyer's room.

"What's going on in here?" He asks looking at his three girls

"The girls are concerned about cancer and instead of talking to us they were trying to figure it out themselves"

Sawyer sighs "I'm a great reader and I can read everything the internet says"

Lucas smiles at her "I know that, baby, but do you understand what it all mean?"

"Sort of" Sawyer says shrugging

Lucas walks in and sits on the bed "What are you trying to figure out?" he asks

"Does mommy have cancer all over her body?" Ellie asks

"We don't know" Peyton says honestly "We're going to have to wait until the results from my PET scan come back"

"When will that be?" Sawyer asks "Sometime this week"

Lucas looks at the girls "How about we go to a movie today!" he says smiling

"Is mommy going to come too?" Ellie asks

"Of course" Peyton says and Ellie smiles

Sawyer just sits there and doesn't say anything

"You don't want to go to the movies?" Lucas asks her

"Yea, I do" She replies "But" She says pausing

"But what?" Lucas asks

"How come we're doing all this stuff all the time now?" She asks "We used to just hang out at home and now you take us places all the time"

Lucas things about it for a moment "I guess I just don't want you sitting around being sad" he says honestly

"But we have a lot of fun here" Sawyer answers "Like what about playing games or watching TV in your room?"

"Yea" Ellie says "We're always leaving the house now"

Peyton and Lucas look at each other. They had been taking the kids a lot of places lately. They just didn't want them sitting around thinking about Peyton's cancer but it looked like they were doing that anyway.

"So you don't want to go to the movies?" Lucas asks

"Not really" Sawyer says "I want to draw and hang out in my room"

"Ok" Lucas says "We can stay home"

"Can we go play basketball?" Ellie asks

Lucas laughs "Sure" he says "Go get your shoes and I'll be right there"

Ellie jumps off the bed and runs out of the room. Lucas looks at Sawyer.

"Are you ok?" He asks

"Yea" Sawyer says looking at her dad like he was crazy

He stands up and kissing Peyton then rubs Sawyer's hair before walking out of the room.

"Well" Peyton sighs "I guess I'll leave you to hanging in your room"

Sawyer grabs her arm "You could hang out with me" she says

Peyton smiles "Ok, I can, at least until Emery gets up from his nap"

"Ok" Sawyer says grabbing her sketch pad

"What are you working on?" Peyton asks settling back in

"Just some drawings"

"Oh you can't tell me?" Peyton says jokingly

"I'll show you when I'm done" Sawyer says smiling at Peyton

"I guess that's fair" Peyton says settling into Sawyer's bed again

"Can I ask you something?" Sawyer almost whispers

"Sure baby girl" Peyton says as Sawyer settles back into her

"Are you scared?"

Peyton sighs "About the cancer?"

"That and…" Sawyer breaks off for a moment "That and you know maybe dying?"

Peyton hugs her tightly "I'm scared about what's going to happen when I have my treatment" Peyton says honestly "And I'm only afraid to die because I'm afraid to leave you guys. We all need each other still"

Sawyer hugs her "Mommy, you can't die!" she says with tears running down her face "You're my best friend and if you die I'll be alone and I don't want to be alone"

Tears start falling down Peyton's face as well "Baby, I'm going to do everything the doctor tells me so I can get better, ok?"

"Ok" Sawyer says "I love you, mommy"

"I love you too, baby girl"

Sawyer takes a deep breath "Is it ok that I'm scared too?"

"Of course it is" Peyton says "Cancer is very scary"

"I'm only scared because you have it. It never scared me before"

Peyton hugs her again. "Baby, can we talk about something?"

"Ok, mommy" Sawyer says "If I do die you know you have your daddy, brother, sister, Aunt Brooke, Uncle Julian, Uncle Nathan, Aunt Haley and Jamie that will all be here for you and love you dearly"

"I love them too but they aren't you mommy" Sawyer says "You're the one who knows everything about me and you know how to fix my drawings to make them perfect. You never draw on them though you just tell me what I can do to make them better. No one else can do that. I don't like basketball and fashion and I don't Aunt Brooke to take your place!"

Peyton hugs Sawyer again "Honey, she could never take my place. I'll always be in your heart and be your mom but if something happens to me you need to have a girl you can talk to"

Sawyer just hugs Peyton "If you die mommy can't I go with you so I can be with you?"

Peyton's chest tightens with those words from her daughter "No, baby" she sighs "If I die you cannot go with me. You have to stay here"

"Mommy, I don't want to stay here without you" Sawyer says crying

This was ripping Peyton's heart out "Baby, let's just see what's going to happen. Please don't worry about all of this right now. You're in the third grade you don't need to worry"

"But you're my mommy and I can't live without you" Sawyer cries "Please, mommy, please don't die"

Peyton is crying hard now and Sawyer has wrapped her arms around Peyton's waist and buried her face into her. Peyton wraps her arm around her smoothing her hair with the other hand. They both just sit there crying.

Peyton was crying so hard she didn't hear the front door open. She didn't hear the footsteps to the house and she didn't notice Lucas in the doorway.

"What's wrong?" He says rushing over to Peyton and Sawyer

"Mommy can't die!" Sawyer says looking up at him "Please, daddy, don't let mommy die!"

Lucas just looks at Peyton not knowing what to do. The tears in his wife's eyes and daughter's eyes were more than he could bear. He crawls onto the bed and wraps his arms around both of them. He just hugs them as tears fill his eyes.

"Daddy" Sawyer sighs "Please, daddy!" she adds

The tears fall down his face as he listens to his daughter's plea knowing he doesn't have any control over it. He just holds them. Peyton lays her head on his shoulder and continues to cry.

"Daddy" Sawyer says looking at him "It's your job to take care of all of us. You're the daddy. You're supposed to protect everyone. You have to protect mommy and keep her from dying from cancer. Please daddy mommy can't die! She's my best friend!"

Now Lucas was crying hard. There was no way to stop it.

"I wish I could" He says with his cracked voice "I wish I could" he says again wrapping his arms around her

"No" Sawyer says pushing him away "Don't say that daddy! You have to keep mommy safe"

Lucas closes he's eyes as he daughter cries uncontrollable. Peyton sighs and wipes her tears. She lifts Sawyer's face to look at her.

"Sawyer" Peyton says wiping the tears from her daughter's eyes "Your dad and I are going to do everything we can to make sure our family stays just the way it is."

Sawyer starts taking deep breaths trying to calm herself down. "Ok, ok" she says over and over again "Ok"

Peyton rubs her back until she's calm again. Sawyer has a tight hold on Peyton and won't let go. Lucas just sits there not knowing what to do. He couldn't believe he froze like that and he couldn't believe the emotions Sawyer displayed.

Finally, everyone in the room was calm again and Lucas kisses his daughter's forehead.

"Are you ok, sweetie?" Lucas asks her as Sawyer looks at him

"Uhuh" she says softly "I just don't want my mommy to die"

"None of us want her to die" Lucas says "And we will get her all the medication she needs so she can get better"

"Promise?"

"I promise we'll get her the medication she needs"

"Ok" Sawyer says taking a sighing deep breath

Peyton wipes her eyes again "How about we all go down and make some cookies together?" she asks. She knows Sawyer loves to make cookies with her.

"Ok" Sawyer says wiping her eyes

"Where's Ellie?" Peyton asks just noticing Lucas was alone

"She's downstairs" Lucas says "I told her I'd be right back after I found you"

"She's probably eaten a ton of snacks!" Peyton says smiling

"I'll go check" Lucas says kissing Peyton's forehead and then kissing Sawyer forehead "Love you two"

"Love you too" Peyton says smiling at him

"Me too" Sawyer says

Lucas walks out of the room. He felt horrible because he didn't know how to handle that situation. Peyton hugs Sawyer one more time.

"I'm sorry I cried, mommy" Sawyer says looking at her

"You don't have to be sorry baby" Peyton says "And I want you to talk to me when you're scared about things, ok?"

"Ok" Sawyer says hugging her mother one more time

"Come on, baby" Peyton says standing up "Let's go make cookies"

The two head downstairs and the happy family bake cookies and spend the rest of the day making memories. They had a great time.

The family carries out their nightly routine and once everyone is settled and in bed Peyton sits down on the couch. Lucas walks into the room and sits next to her. He swings her legs up on his lap and starts rubbing her feet.

"I'm sorry" He says softly

"For what?" Peyton asks tired from the emotional day

"For not being able to handle Sawyer today"

"She's so scared, Luke"

"I know" He says taking a deep breath "She asked me again when I tucked her in to promise that you'll take your medicine"

Peyton just lays her head back against the arm of the couch.

"This sucks!" Peyton sighs

"Yes, it does" he says "It's going to be ok"

"We don't know that" Peyton sighs

"But we have to stay positive right now" Lucas sighs

Peyton just sighs. Lucas continues to rubs her feet and she lays there. She is sick to her stomach and hoped she doesn't throw up.

"Hey" Lucas says feeling her tension

"I'm tired" She says pulling her feet away and sitting up

"Then let's go to bed" Lucas says kissing her softly

"You haven't written a word since we found out I have cancer" She says blankly "Why don't you go write for a while"

"We always go to bed together" Lucas says looking at her confused

"Maybe we should get used to going to bed alone"

Lucas just shakes his head as she gets up and walks away. He knows she scared and he knows she's putting up those damn walls because of Sawyer today. He just had to figure out a way to make it all ok. He had too.

Upstairs, Peyton changes into her pajamas and then walks into Sawyer's room. Sawyer was hiding under her covers and Peyton saw her flashlight. Peyton lifts them up and crawls under the blanket with her daughter.

"What are you doing?" Peyton asks

Sawyer throws her arms over her book. "Drawing" she says "And you can't see right now"

Peyton sighs "fine!" She says pouting

"Why are you in here?" Sawyer asks

"I was worried about you" Peyton says honestly "So I thought I'd come snuggle with you"

"Really?" Sawyer asks smiling

"Really" Peyton says

Sawyer flings the covers off and goes and puts her sketch book away. Then she comes back and crawls into bed. Peyton snuggles in next to her. Sawyer lays in Peyton's arms and they both fall asleep.

Hours later Lucas comes upstairs and goes into their bedroom. When he doesn't find Peyton there he walks into Sawyer's room seeing her there. He sighs. He feels horrible about everything that happened earlier that day and Sawyer was right he was supposed to protect them all but he didn't know how to protect Peyton now.

He goes and gets ready for bed and takes a few hours to fall asleep. Just as he closes his eyes he feels the bed dip and opens them again.

"Oh I'm sorry" Peyton says "Did I wake you?"

"No" Lucas sighs

"I was with Sawyer but she kept kicking me so I came in here"

"She's a mover" Lucas says

Peyton can tell something's wrong with him "Is everything ok?"

"I guess" Lucas says

"Luke" she says looking at him

"I don't want to get used to going to bed without you!" He says "I don't care if you have to go to bed at 5 o'clock at night I want to lay down next to you. We're a team, Peyt" He sighs "And we're going to do this together. I'm going to be here for you and I don't want to come to bed alone!"

Peyton looks at him "Ok" She says softly

"Now, get your cute little ass in here and snuggle into me so I can sleep"

Peyton smiles and does what he says. The two fall asleep within minutes. Peyton tosses and turns all night keeping Lucas up. He knows that means she's having bad dreams and he hates that. He wishes he could make all this go away.

The next morning the alarm goes off and Peyton gets up.

"Hey babe" She says kissing Lucas "You have to get up for work"

"I don't think I should go"

Peyton sighs "Luke" She says "We've talked about this. You're going to go back to work until I start chemo"

"No" Lucas says "You talked and I just sat there"

Peyton sighs again "Babe, please" She says "I need a little normalcy until things get really bad again"

"I just don't want you here alone"

"Lucas" Peyton says "I promise if the doctor calls or something happens I'll call you right away. Your teams need you and so do your students"

"My wife is more important!"

"I know I am and I'm going to need you a lot but right now I'm ok we're just sitting around waiting"

"I have to go to work today because Principal Turner needs to talk to me about my options but I'm not promising that I'm staying all day and I'm not promising I'll go back tomorrow"

"Fine" Peyton says kissing him and getting up.

She wakes up both of the girls and then heads downstairs to start breakfast. The phone rings and Peyton goes over and answers it with a weird expression on her face because it was so early.

"Hello" she says

"_Peyton" Julian says into the phone "Brooke's water broke! Can I drop the boys off?"_

"Of course!" Peyton says

"_Then once they kids are off to school you'll head to the hospital?"_

"Yes" Peyton replies "See you soon" she says hanging up

Lucas walks into the kitchen "Who was that?"

"Julian" Peyton says pouring him a cup of coffee "Brooke's water broke"

"Holy shit!" Lucas says "You need to get to the hospital!"

"Julian is bring the boys here and then I'm going to put all the kids on the bus and head up there"

"Go now" Lucas says "I can handle the kids"

"You have to go to work"

"I have a sub today already" Lucas says "I was just going in to work with Principal Turner on the paperwork and then get everything in order for the sub. I can do that after the kids are on the bus and I'll take Emery with me"

The front door opens and Jude and Davis come running in.

"Hi Aunt Peyton" Davis says jumping up to the counter

"Hi buddy" She says "Did you eat breakfast?"

"Nope" Jude says "daddy didn't have time. He said he broke mommy and he had to take her to the hospital"

Julian laughs as he walks in. "Here's their bags. Thanks again"

"No problem" Peyton says

"Peyton can ride with you to the hospital if you'd like"

Julian looks at Peyton "I'll just meet you there"

"Ok" Julian says "See you soon"

He leaves as quickly as he came

"Why didn't you go with him?"

"Because child birth takes hours and I don't really feel like sitting there all day ok" Peyton snaps

Lucas looks at her "I'm sorry"

"Me too" Peyton sighs

The girls walk into the kitchen.

"What are they doing here?" Ellie asks

"Aunt Brooke's having her baby" Lucas says

"Wow!" Sawyer answers "That's so cool"

"Can we go see it?" Ellie asks

"Maybe after school" Peyton replies "Now everyone come and eats breakfast" she adds and she dishes up eggs, toast and bacon. Everyone eats and Lucas helps clear the plates.

"Go brush your teeth" Peyton says smiling at the kids.

Ellie and Sawyer run off.

"We brushed our teeth at home" Davis said

"Ok" Peyton says smiling "Then just go sit in the living room"

The boys run into the living room. Peyton finishes loading the dishwasher.

"Well since you don't want to go to the hospital right away if you want to wait until I get back I can keep Emery" Lucas says

"You have practice" Peyton says

"I know he can go with me"

"How about I drop him off to you when I get ready?"

"Sounds like a plan" Lucas says smiling "And I'll just run over to the elementary school and pick all the other kids up when school get out"

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling

"You ok?"

"Yes" Peyton sighs "I'm just nervous about when the PET scan results will come back"

"Me too" Lucas says walking over and kissing her "I love you"

"I love you too" Peyton responses

"I'll see you later"

"Sounds good"

Lucas walks out of the house and Peyton walks into the living room. The bus would be there in about 20 minutes so she let the kids watch TV. Once she has the kids on the bus she goes and takes a shower. When she gets out she goes and checks on Emery who is wide awake.

"Morning buddy"

"Morning mommy" Emery says smiling at her

Peyton gets him dressed and then takes him down and makes him breakfast. After he finishes breakfast she cleans up again and they head out of the house.

She heads towards the school. She parks in the parking lot and walks in. She walks to Lucas' office and finds him there.

"Hey" He says looking up when she knocks on his door

"Hey" She smiles back

"Daddy!" Emery yells running over to him.

"Hey buddy" Lucas replies picking him up "Any calls yet?"

"No" Peyton sighs

"Ok" Lucas says standing up and walking over to Peyton kissing her "Go enjoy the birth of your best friend's baby"

"I'll try" Peyton sighs kissing Lucas and then Emery "See you later"

She walks out of the office and heads to her car. Once there she heads to the hospital. She gets there and parks her car. She walks in and goes to the maturity floor. Julian texts her that they are in room 3120. She walks to the room and knocks on the door.

"Come in" Julian says

Peyton pushes the door open and walks into the room. Brooke is laying there eating ice chips.

"How are you doing?" Peyton asks sitting in the empty chair

"I'm dilated to 8 right now" Brooke says

"Wow" Peyton sighs "You went fast"

"I was dilated to 5 at my last appointment and was 7 when I got here"

"Well it shouldn't be too much longer before you get to 10"

"Thanks for coming" Brooke sighs "I know you have a lot going on but I really need you here"

"You're my best friend where else would I be?"

Brooke smiles at her. The midwife walks in.

"We need to check you again" she says softly

"Ok" Brooke sighs

The midwife pulls the curtain and checks Brooke. She opens the curtain before telling Brooke what she's discovered.

"You're 10 cm dilated and the baby is in the birthing canal. I'm going to go get ready and with contractions I'll have you push"

"Ok" Brooke says

Within an hour and a half Brooke was holding her brand new baby girl. She was smiling ear to ear.

"So what do you think about Fiona?" Brooke asks Peyton

"I think it's a beautiful name" Peyton replies

"Would you like to hold her?"

"Sure" Peyton says getting up and walking over to take the new baby from her mother

"Hello Fiona" Peyton says smiling "Welcome to the world"

Peyton holds the baby and a tear falls down her face. Brooke notices and frowns.

"It's going to be ok" Brooke says to her softly

"I hope so" Peyton answers as she feels her cell phone vibrate in her pocket.

Peyton stands up and hands Fiona back to Brooke and answers the phone. She walks out of the room to talk to whoever it is.

"I'm so worried about her" Brooke sighs

"I know" Julian says "I'm worried about Lucas too. He won't talk about it"

"Well we'll have to be better at being there for them now that the baby's here"

"Yes, we will"

Peyton walks back into the room and Brooke and Julian look at her.

"I have to go to the doctor tomorrow." She sighs "The PET scan results are in"

Brooke just nods and so does Julian. The door flies open and all the kids come flying in followed by Lucas.

"Well" He says smiling

"Meet Fiona McKenzie, Uncle Lucas" Brooke says smiling

Lucas walks over and takes the new baby from Brooke. "She's beautiful" he says

"I want to see" Ellie says

"Me too" Davis whines

Lucas sits down so all of the children can see the baby. He then notices that Peyton looks distracted.

"You ok?" he asks looking at her

"The doctor's office called"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because today's about Fiona and Brooke"

Lucas sighs "What did they say?"

"Appointment tomorrow"

"Well at least we'll finally know what we're dealing with"

"Yep" Peyton sighs

They spend the rest of the afternoon and evening at the hospital with Brooke and her family. They even run out and get dinner. It was a nice distraction but in the back of Peyton's mind she was worried about what tomorrow would bring. She just hoped it hadn't spread and it would all be over soon.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Once again Lucas and Peyton are sitting in a conference room in Dr. Jenkins' office. Lucas is holding Peyton's hand.

"I'm so scared for what she's going to say" Peyton says looking at him

"I know, sweetheart, but just remember whatever the news we're going to get through this together. I'm here for you and I love you more than life itself"

"I love you too" Peyton says softly

There is a soft knock on the door.

"Come in" Peyton says

Dr. Jenkins' walks in. "Good morning" She says with a small smile on her face as she takes a seat on the other side of the table.

"Morning" Peyton says

Dr. Jenkins sighs "Well we can finally determine our course of action for diagnosis and treatment." She states plainly

"Ok" Peyton says "So what did you find out?"

"The PET scan revealed that your cancer has not metastasized which is a good thing. However, it also showed that you have cancer in both breasts and in the lymph nodes in the left armpit."

"What does that mean?" Lucas asks because Peyton just sat there and stared at the doctor.

"It means that Peyton's cancer is Stage III"

"I'm betting that's not good" Peyton says

"You're betting right" Dr. Jenkins says honestly "It means we need to fight fast and fight hard. The tumor in your left breast was bigger in the PET scan then on the mammogram just a few weeks ago."

"So what does all of this mean?" Lucas asks

"It means we need to perform either a lumpectomy or a mastectomy and lymph node dissection. Then follow with intense chemotherapy and maybe radiation."

Peyton sighs "What is the difference between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy?"

"A lumpectomy just removes the tumor and a small amount of the tissue around it where a mastectomy removes all of the breast tissue"

"Which do you recommend?"

Dr. Jenkins sighs "Honestly, with the rapid spread of your cancer and the fact that it's already in both breast I'd recommend a mastectomy. However, I am going to give you literature about both and I'm going to have you and your husband go home and read it and make the decision."

Peyton just nods

"If you choice to have the mastectomy we can perform reconstructive surgery at the same time or you can have it later. The one thing that will happen while you're under is that we'll be placing a Hickman line"

"What is a Hickman line?" Lucas asks

Dr. Jenkins smiles "I know this is a ton to take in. I'm sorry we have to have these discussions. A Hickman line is a special intravenous that goes into a large vein near your heart. It's made of silicone. The Hickman line can have 2 or 3 lumens or tubes. The one Peyton will have will have three. The lumens act like 2 or 3 separate IV lines. The separate lumens are joined together side by side inside the main catheter until it leaves the body, where they are seen as separate tubes. Each lumen of your Hickman line is given a different color: red, blue or white. The red is used for taking blood samples or for receiving blood products. The white and blue are used for giving medications and IV fluids. Those are the lines that will be used for chemo. You'll have to learn how to take care of Peyton's Hickman line or she'll have to be hospitalized while she has it."

"I'll learn whatever I have to so I can take care of my wife" Lucas says "So will she have to come in for chemo?"

"I know you have little kids and it will be very hard for you to bring her every day because that's how much she's going to have to have chemo. She'll have it every day for 3 weeks then she'll have 1 week off and have it for 3 more weeks. After 3 cycles of these we'll do another PET scan and see where she's at. I can send her home with a pump but then you're going to have to have very very specific training and she'll have to come in once a week or we can do in home chemo where we have it delivered to your house but you'll have to learn how to administrate that as well. Best case would be for her to come in but her chemo will take 12 hours to infuse and that's a long time to be here."

"Wow" Peyton says "Do I have to do chemo?"

"There's no way around it."

"But I can do it at my house?"

"Yes"

"That's how I want to do it then"

"We can decide all that later. First, you have to go home and decide what course of action you're going to take regarding surgery. After that's done, we'll discuss chemo options."

"Can't we just make all the decisions right now?" Peyton asks

"Mrs. Scott" Dr. Jenkins sighs "These are life changing decisions. They will change your body for the rest of your life. It's not anything you rush into. Please, take the literature and read it carefully, then make your decisions"

Peyton sighs "Ok"

"Do you have any questions?"

"Am I going to die?"

"My goal is to save your life" Dr. Jenkins says "but there's always a chance with cancer."

"I know you have a five-year survival rate so what is mine?" Peyton asks

"41%"

Peyton sighs "That's not very good"

"It's just a number, Peyt" Lucas says squeezing her hand

"But it's not a good number" Peyton sighs

"We're going to fight it with all we have" Dr. Jenkins says

"Ok" Peyton sighs

"Peyton" Dr. Jenkins sighs "I had the same diagnosis you have and I'm still here"

Peyton just nods.

Dr. Jenkins hands her some pamphlets "Go home and talk about it and we'll see you on Wednesday to start making some decisions"

"Thank you" Lucas says

Dr. Jenkins stands up and shakes their hands she then walks out of the room. Peyton bursts into tears.

"I'm going to die!" she cries hysterically

"Peyton" Lucas says grabbing her and wrapping his arms around her "You are not going to die!"

"Yes, I am Lucas" She yells "You might as well just get used to the idea that I'm not going to be around anymore!"

Lucas just holds her. He knows that right now there's no talking any sense into her so he just hold her while she cries and shakes in his arms. After a few minutes, Peyton looks up at him.

"Let's go home" She says wiping her eyes "We have some decisions to make"

Lucas nods his head and grabs her hand as they walk out of the office. They get into the car and he holds her hand the entire way home. Once they get there Peyton gets out of the car and walks into house and right into their bedroom closing the door.

Lucas sighs and sits on the couch. He wanted to give her time to process everything she found out today. He couldn't imagine what was running through her head because he knows the fear running through his head and he wasn't even the one with cancer.

The doorbell rings and he gets up and answers it. Brooke is standing there and Julian is behind her.

"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Lucas asks looking at her

"We're on our way home" Julian says

"I need to see Peyton" Brooke says

"She's in our room right now"

"Luke" Brooke sighs "What happened today?"

Lucas sighs "Come in" he says moving out of the way

Julian and Brooke walk in and sit in the living room. Fiona is asleep in her car seat. Everyone sits down.

Lucas sighs "It's not good" he begins "She has Stage IIIb breast cancer which means she has tumors and it spread into her lymph nodes. She has to decided if she wants to have a lumpectomy or a mastectomy"

"Wow" Brooke sighs "That's a lot to deal with"

"There's more" Lucas sighs "While having which ever surgery she decides to have they're going to put in a Hickman line to do chemo. Her chemo will be three weeks every day for 12 hours then one week off for three cycles. Once she does three cycles they'll do another PET scan to see where everything's at."

"What is she going to do?"

"She went right to her room when we got home"

"This is unbelievable" Brooke says

"The doctor told us today she has a 41% five year survival rate"

"Is that good or bad?"

"It's less than a fifty percent chance of survival"

"This sucks!" Brooke says "I'm going to go see her"

"Good luck" Lucas says "She wouldn't let me in"

Brooke gets up and walks to Peyton and Lucas' room. She tries the door and it's locked.

"Peyton Scott, open this damn door right now!"

"Go away" Peyton yells back

"Open this door right now or I'm going to kick it down and I just had a baby so that is very dangerous"

"Brooke, go home and be with your baby" Peyton snaps through the door"

Brooke reaches up into her hair and takes out a bobby pin. She then sticks it into the door and pushes until the lock pops open. She opens the door and walks in

"If you don't want people to be able to get into your room you should put better locks on your door." Brooke says walking over and climbing into bed next to Peyton

"Go home, Brooke" Peyton sighs

"I'm not leaving!" She snaps "Lucas told me everything"

"Then you know I'm going to die so could you please just leave me alone to do so!"

"PEYTON SCOTT!" Brooke yells "You are not going to lay here and feel sorry for yourself and you are not going to give up! You have three children and a husband that needs you and you will not just lay here and not fight this!"

Peyton looks at her and starts crying hysterically. Brooke wraps her arms around her.

"Oh, Peyt" she says tears falling down her face "I can't live without you. None of us can. You can't give up"

Both women are crying holding each other when Lucas walks in. He had come up to check on them and then rushes to them wrapping his arms around both of them. He holds them while they cry.

"Lucas, she can't die" Brooke cries

Lucas looks at her "She's not going to" He says

"You don't know that!" Peyton yells

"Baby" He says "We're going to fight this. We're going to make sure you get everything you need and we're going to do everything that needs to happen"

"I don't know if I can" Peyton cries "I'm not strong enough"

"You are the strongest person I know" Brooke says through her tears "You can do this. We'll all be here for you"

"Excuse me" Julian says from the door "Fi needs to eat"

Brooke wipes her eyes "I'll be right down to feed her" she sighs

"Fiona's here?"

"Yea, we stopped here on our way home from the hospital"

Peyton wipes her eyes "I want to see her"

"Then come on" Brooke says pulling her up

"I'll be right down" Peyton says

Brooke hugs her and gets off the bed. Lucas moves over and wraps his arms around her.

"We're going to get through this together. I'm going to be here for you every step of the way. I love you and I'm going to love you through this baby"

Peyton just hugs him.

"Let's go see that baby" He says smiling "She's beautiful"

Peyton smiles "We won't be able to have any more babies if I have chemo"

Lucas looks at her "We have three children already, babe"

"But I thought you wanted another boy?"

"I'm extremely happy with the three children we have" Lucas says kissing her "Don't worry about any of that stuff. All your energy needs to be focused on getting better"

"I love you, Lucas Scott" she says kissing him again

"I love you, too" Lucas says "Now let's go see Fiona"

Peyton smiles and then get out of the bed. They go downstairs and Brooke is nursing Fiona on the couch.

"Oh, Luke, does this bother you?" She asks

"No, you're covered it's fine"

"Ok" she says as Peyton walks over and sits down next to her. She rubs Fiona's head while she eats.

Peyton sighs "So" she says softly "I need help making a decision

"Ok" Julian says "Make spaghetti because we're staying for dinner"

Peyton starts laughing "Ok, I will but that's not what I meant"

"I know" Julian says "I just wanted to see you smile"

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling at him again "I need to decide what surgery to have"

Lucas tenses.

"What?" Peyton says

"Nothing" he sighs "We'll talk about it later"

"Why did you tense when I mentioned surgery?"

Lucas sighs "because in my mind there is no decision to make but I think we should talk about this later"

"I want Brooke's input so I want to talk about it now and why do you feel there's not decision to make? There are two surgeries so that involves making a choice"

"Not when only one is going to prevent the breast cancer from coming back"

Brooke looks at Peyton and then Lucas.

"So how about some facts before we all get worked up"

"The doctor told us today she'd recommend a mastectomy"

"Why's that?" Brooke asks

"Because Peyton's cancer is spreading rapidly and a mastectomy will prevent reoccurrence of the cancer and she'll hopefully have to have chemo without radiation."

"So why wouldn't you want to have the mastectomy?" Brooke asks

"Because that means total removal of my breasts!" Peyton yells

Brooke starts laughing "Well they aren't that big any way"

Peyton frowns "that's not the point!"

"They'll do reconstructive surgery" Brooke says softly "You can get bigger ones"

"This isn't a joke, Brooke!" Peyton snaps "This is my life? These are my breasts! I don't want to lose them!"

"So you'd rather die?" Brooke snaps as tears run down her face

Peyton sighs again "No" she says "I just don't know if I'm ok with them hacking at my chest"

"It's about your life, Peyt" Julian says putting his voice in the room for the first time "And if you can't afford it I'll pay for your new breasts"

Peyton starts crying.

"I didn't want you to cry" Julian says

"It's ok" She says wiping her eyes "It's just really nice of you"

"You know I'll buy you new breasts, Peyt" Lucas says "I'll buy you whatever you want but you have to be here for me to buy it"

"Ok" she sighs

Brooke finishes up feeding Fiona

"Can I hold her?" Peyton asks

"Sure"

Brooke hands the baby to Peyton and Peyton kisses her forehead.

"She's so beautiful"

"Thanks" Brooke smiles at her

Julian looks at his watch "I have to go get the kids from school" He sighs

"And I have to go to practice" Lucas says "Skillz can't make it today. Will you two be ok?"

"Yeah" Peyton sighs "We'll be fine"

Both guys get up and kiss their wives and then walk out of the house. Brooke looks at Peyton.

"Please have the mastectomy, Peyt" she says with tears in her eyes "I can't live without my best friend and your kids will never make it without you. Sawyer will curl up in a ball and be a hermit. You're her best friend like you're mine and neither one of us can live without you. Lucas won't be able to go on and everything will fall apart. Please Peyt"

Peyton sighs " They'll have to remove both breasts" she says "I have cancer in both"

"I know" Brooke says "I know"

"I'm scared"

"Me too"

"What if I have the surgery and I still die?"

"Don't think that way"

"I have too"

"No, you don't"

"My girl is going to be so lost"

"No, she's not because you're going to be here for her"

"Brooke" Peyton sighs "We have to face the fact I could die!"

"No, we don't!" Brooke yells

Peyton sighs "I should go get all the kids a snack ready and I guess make sure I have stuff for dinner" she says getting up and handing Fiona back to Brooke.

She walks into the kitchen and makes a snack up for all of the kids and sets out enough juice boxes. She then checks to make sure she has the supplies to make spaghetti for dinner which she does. The door swings open and she hears footsteps but not enough to be Julian and the kids.

"Hello!" Nathan yells and Peyton sighs

"In the kitchen"

He walks in followed by Haley

"Where's Jamie?" Peyton asks

"Julian took all the kids to the park and told us Brooke was here with the baby"

"Oh" she says

"And he might have mentioned your doctor's appointment today" Haley added

"I see"

Nathan walks over and hugs her "How ya holding up?"

"Well let's see I have to decide whether or not to have my breasts completely cut off or partially cut off, I have cancer and I may die and I'm scared to death! That's how I'm holding up"

Nathan sighs "Have the mastectomy! I have plenty of money and we'll buy new breasts!"

"ENOUGH!" Peyton yells just as Brooke walks into the kitchen "Of course it's easy for all of you to say have the mastectomy because it's not your breasts. You're not the ones who will lose part of what makes them a woman you're not the ones who will have to look in the mirror every day and see that cancer took something from you! It's not that cut and dry have a mastectomy and move on! I have to live with the decision for the rest of my life and I'm not going to just make it that easily!"

Brooke is furious and hands the baby to Haley "Well at least you'll be alive to live with it!" she yells "Who cares if your breasts are fake! You'll be here! You'll be able to watch your children grow up and we'll be able to take trips together as elderly couples! Not having a mastectomy would be the most selfish decision you've ever made in your life! So what if your breasts are fake! The real ones are trying to kill you so the fake will be much better!"

Brooke walks out of the room crying and Nathan looks at Peyton and then Haley. He didn't know what to do.

"No one understands!" Peyton says walking off and after a few minutes they all hear the bedroom door slam.

Haley looks at Nathan

"Should I go talk to her?" Nathan asks

"No" Haley sighs "Let's make dinner for everyone and give her time to digest everything"

Nathan and Haley make dinner while Brooke sits in the living room and Peyton stays in her bedroom. Just as dinner is ready everyone enters to house.

"Where's Peyt?" Lucas asks

"She's in your room" Nathan sighs "We upset her"

"What?" Lucas asks

"We told her to have the mastectomy and she got a little upset and she went to her room and hasn't returned" Haley sighs

"Great!" Lucas says angrily "Can you get all the kids ready for dinner? I'll be right back"

Lucas walks out of the room and to their bedroom. He knocks on the door and Peyton doesn't answer. He tries the doorknob and it was unlocked so he walks in. She's asleep with all the pamphlets laying on her. He walks over and kisses her on the forehead. She stirs and looks at him.

"Hey" He says softly

"What time is it?" She asks rubbing her eyes

"Six" he says

"Oh no" She says jumping up "I have to make dinner"

"Haley and Nathan did"

"Oh" she sighs "Everyone's still here?"

"Yea" Lucas answers "They just want to help"

"I know" Peyton says

"Looks like you've been doing some reading?" Lucas asks holding up the materials around her

"Yea" Peyton sighs

"What did you learn?"

"That I should have the mastectomy"

"But you don't want to?"

"No" Peyton says

"Then don't"

"But there's a bigger chance of it coming back"

"If you're willing to take that risk then so am I"

"But if I have the mastectomy the chance of it coming back is slim to none if I don't it's much higher"

"Well if that's what you want then I support you"

Peyton looks at him funny "Really?"

"I told you, Peyt" he says grabbing her hands to hold them "I'm going to love you through this and it's your body and your decision so whatever you want is what we'll do"

"I'm not going to have any breasts anymore"

"Yes, you will" Lucas sighs "I already told you we'll get you fake ones"

Peyton sighs "Ok, then"

"Ok, then what?"

"I'll do it"

"Do what?"

"I'll have the mastectomy"

"Peyt, we don't have to decide anything right now"

"Yes, we do. My life depends on it"

Lucas grabs her "Yes, it does"

"I'll have the surgery because if I don't my chances of dying is much greater and I can't do that to you and the kids so we'll go meet with Dr. Jenkins and schedule to surgery."

Lucas hugs her "And I'll be holding your hand when you wake up"

"I know you will"

"I love you, babe"

"I know" Peyton says "That's why I'm going to do it because I don't want to die"

"I don't want you to die either"

"Mommy, can't die!" Sawyer says from the doorway

Peyton and Lucas both look.

"What are you doing up here?" Peyton asks

"I came up to get you because we're hungry and waiting"

"We're coming right now" Peyton says

Sawyer runs over to her "I missed you today"

"I missed you too, baby girl"

"Why were you talking about dying?"

"Don't worry about that right now baby" Peyton says "Everything's going to be ok"

"I hope so" Sawyer says

Peyton grabs her hand and they all walk downstairs. Everyone is sitting there waiting to eat.

"Thanks for making dinner" Peyton says sitting down

"No problem" Haley says smiling

"Smells great" Lucas says

Everyone gets their dinner and eats while talking about their day. After dinner Lucas and Haley cleaned up. The kids went outside to play and when the dishes were done all the adults were sitting in the living room.

Peyton sighs "I'm sorry I snapped early" she says softly

"We should have minded our own business" Nathan says

"This is your business" Peyton sighs "We're all family and Lucas and I are going to need all your help during all of this"

"We'll do anything we can to help you" Haley says

"You know we will" Julian adds

Peyton takes a deep breath "I'm going to have a mastectomy"

Everyone just looks at her

"It's the best decision and I can't have any room for what ifs. I need to do what's best so I have the best chance to beat this"

"What do you need from us?" Brooke asks once again with tears in her eyes

"Support"

"You have it!" Brooke smiles

"We love you" Nathan says walking over and sitting next to you "We'll do anything for you"

"I have another appointment on Wednesday so we'll schedule the surgery then and we'll go from there"

"And we'll all be there for you" Julian says

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling.

Haley stands up "We better get going"

"Yea, us too" Julian says "It's getting late"

Everyone leaves and Peyton and Lucas put their kids to bed. Peyton goes into the bedroom and Lucas follows her.

"What's on your mind?"

Peyton turns around to look at him and she had her breasts flattened to her body.

"Just wondering what I'm going to look like"

"Beautiful as always"

She just grins at her "You should go write something"

"Nah" Lucas says "I thought I'd pop some popcorn and curl up on the couch with my wife and watch a movie"

Peyton smiles at him "Sounds good"

The two go downstairs to spend the evening together. Neither really focusing on the movie both thinking about what the surgery was going to bring and what their future was going to hold. Fear, sadness and pain were all they both could see. Not how they were hoping to spend their future but both preparing to do so because they knew they had too.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" Emery screams from his bedroom.

Peyton jumps at the sounds of her little boy's voice.

Lucas wakes up next to her "What's wrong?"

"Emery's screaming"

"Mommy, come! Mommy, come!"

Peyton gets out of bed and rushes down the hallway. Both Ellie and Sawyer are standing in their doorways.

"What's wrong with Emery?" Sawyer asks rubbing her eyes

"I don't know, baby" Peyton says "Go back to bed"

Sawyer doesn't listen but instead follows her mom down the hallway. Peyton opens Emery's door and turns the light on.

"Mommy, I sick" Emery says and Peyton walks over to the bed. He was sitting there in poop. He had had a bout of diarrhea.

"Oh my poor little baby" she says

"I sorry, mommy. I sorry, I pooped my bed"

"Oh, it's ok buddy" She says

Lucas walks into the room. "What's going on?" he says rubbing his eyes

"Emery has diarrhea" Sawyer says looking like she wants to throw up

"Oh man" Lucas sighs "Ok"

"I'll take care of it" Peyton says

"No, you sick mommy" Emery says "You can't help. Daddy do it"

Peyton's heart drops. She didn't think Emery had noticed what was going on because he was so little and he hadn't said anything about her being sick.

"It's ok baby. I can take care of you" Peyton says hugging him

"I don't want to make you more sicker"

Tears roll down Peyton's face "I won't get any sicker than I already am sweetheart and I'm your mommy so I'm going to take care of you"

Emery stands up in his bed and wraps his arms around Peyton. "I love you!" he says kissing her

"I love you too" She says "Come on let's get you cleaned up"

Peyton just picks the little boy up poopy pants and all. She carries him into the bathroom and strips him down. She runs a warm bath and then sits him in it. Lucas walks in.

"Do we have more sheets and that plastic thing that goes on the mattress?"

"Yes, in the hallway closet"

"Ok" Lucas says turning and walking out of the room

Peyton cleans Emery up and then takes him out of the tub. She wraps him up in a towel and carries him back to his room.

"What should I do with these sheets?" Lucas asks

"I'll take care of them after I settle Emery back in"

"I can help!" Lucas says "Just tell me what to do!"

"Take the sheets, his pajamas and the towel and throw them into the wash machine. Do you know how to use the wash machine?"

Lucas rolls his eyes "Yes, I think I can handle it"

"Spray everything with prewash before washing it"

"Ok" Lucas says picking everything up off the floor.

Peyton grabs a pull up out of the closet.

"Mommy, I'm a big boy!" Emery says looking at her

"I know you are baby but you have diarrhea and you don't want to have poop in your bed again do you?"

"No" Emery says "That was yucky"

"I know" Peyton says kissing the little boy on the forehead "So let's put this on, ok?"

"Ok" he says

Peyton pulls the pull up on Emery and then puts a new pair of pajamas on him.

"There" she says smiling at him "Does your belly hurt?"

Emery shakes his head yes

"Come on" Peyton says picking him up "You can sleep in our room"

Ellie and Sawyer were now lying on the floor by the door.

"I want to sleep in your room too" Ellie says rubbing her eyes

Peyton smiles "Ok, come on. You can too"

Sawyer looks at her "What about me?"

"You can too"

Sawyer smiles at her as she gets up off the floor. They all walk back to Lucas and Peyton's room and snuggle into their bed. Lucas walks in and looks at the sight in front of him. He smiles at Peyton.

"Make room!" He says walking over and climbing into bed with his family

Everyone snuggles into each other and falls back to sleep.

After an hour or so Sawyer wakes up and looks around. She notices that Emery has moved away from Peyton so she snuggles into her. Peyton stirs and wakes up. She looks at Sawyer.

"What are you doing up?" Peyton whispers

"I don't know" Sawyer says "I just woke up"

Peyton smiles at her and wraps her arms around her. Sawyer drifts back to sleep and Peyton lays there looking at her family. They were all safe and snug and she loved that. She sighs because she wonders if they'll be ok if she dies and she worries because Lucas didn't really seem to know what to do about the sheets. She wasn't sure he could handle all of this on his own. She worries as she falls back to sleep.

The next morning they all wake up kind of late.

"Shit!" Lucas yells

"What's wrong?" Peyton asks rubbing her eyes

"We're late"

"What do you mean we're late?" she says looking at the clock "Shit!" she says "You're late for work"

"I have a sub now" Lucas says "I'm on family medical leave"

"We need to get the kids ready"

"I don't want to go to school today" Sawyer says still with her eyes closed "I'm tired"

Peyton smiles "We had a long night so you can stay home if you want too"

"Me too" Ellie says

"You too"

"Do I have to go to Uncle Nathan's?" Emery asks rubbing his eyes

"No" Peyton says smiling "Everyone can stay home today"

"Yea!" All three kids say standing up and start jumping on the bed

"Hey I thought you were sick" Peyton says to Emery grabbing him and tickling his belly

"I feel better now"

"Oh good" She says kissing his forehead

"How about we make something to eat?" Lucas says

Sawyer gets a huge smile on her face "How about we go out to breakfast?"

Peyton's face lights up "Yeah!" she says getting up on the bed and jumping up and down with the kids

Lucas looks at her and shakes his head

"Please daddy" Ellie says batting her eyes

"Yeah, please daddy" Peyton says doing the same thing

Lucas laughs "Everyone get ready!"

The kids jump out of bed and rush off to their rooms to get dressed.

"I can't believe you're letting them stay home from school" Lucas says

"Life's short"

Lucas' face drops "I know" he says sadly

"I just want to spend time with them"

"Sounds good to me" Lucas says smiling

"We better get ready"

Lucas and Peyton both get out of bed and get ready, Within no time at all they're all in the car heading into the diner. Lucas parks the car and they all head in. The kids run to the big booth in the back. Peyton and Lucas slide in next to them.

"What are you going to have?" Lucas asks

"Waffles" Sawyer says smiling

"French toast" Ellie answers

"Pancakes" Emery replies

"All sounds great" Lucas answers his kids "How about you babe?"

"I was thinking about an omelet"

"That sounds good too"

"What are you going to have?" Peyton asks

"I don't know" Lucas says "Probably stuffed French toast"

"With bacon, right daddy?" Sawyer asks

"Right" Lucas says smiling at him

The waitress comes over and takes their order. The family sits and eats and laughs throughout the meal. When they are finished the get back into the car.

"Who wants to go to the movies?" Lucas asks

"Really?" Sawyer asks "On a school day?"

"We're not at school so we can do whatever we want today" Lucas says smiling

"Then let's go to the movies!" Ellie screams

"Yeah" Emery replies

The family heads to the movies and go into the theater and sits down. They all share popcorn and enjoy the show. After the movies they head to the park to play. Peyton is sliding down the slide when her phone rings.

"Hello" she says laughing

"_Mrs. Scott?" The voice asks on the other end of the phone_

"Yes"

"_Hello, Peyton. It's Lydia"_

"Hi, Lydia" Peyton says with a sigh

"_I'm calling to schedule your mastectomy"_

"Great" Peyton says sitting on the end of the slide

_Lydia sighs "I know it's scary Peyton. I'm so sorry you have to go through this but I promise Dr. Jenkins is the best"_

"I know" Peyton sighs "I know"

"_Dr. Silver and perform the mastectomy Thursday"_

"Today's Tuesday"

"_I know" Lydia says "Time is your enemy right now"_

"Ok" Peyton sighs

"_You need to be at the hospital at 5:30 am"_

"Will you be there?"

"_Sure will" _

"See you then"

"_Bye Peyton"_

Peyton just hangs up the phone and Lucas comes over from the basketball courts.

"Who was that?"

"Lydia" Peyton sighs

"And?"

"Thursday"

Lucas sighs "Ok" He sighs "Thursday it is"

"Come on, mama" Emery shouts "Come swing with me"

Peyton smiles and gets up off the slide Lucas hugs her quickly before she takes off running towards the swing. She picks up Emery and puts him on her lap. Then they laugh and swing. She then goes and plays basketball with Ellie. Finally she makes her way over to the trees where Sawyer is sitting drawing.

She made sure to spend time with each of her children that day and they laughed and played and had the best time in a long time.

"Hey babe" Lucas says as he walks over to his wife who is on the merry-go-round with all of her children

"Yeah" Peyton says laughing

"It's 5:30"

"What?" Peyton says "It's that late?"

"Yeah" he says

"We better get home then" Peyton smiles as she jumps of the merry-go-round and her babies follow her.

They all climb into the car and stop to get pizzas on the way home. When they get home the kids help set the table and they eat and laugh some more. After dinner the kids read and practice their spelling words while Peyton does the dishes. Lucas helps her.

"We going to talk about Thursday?"

"I have to be there at 5:30 in the morning"

"You don't want to talk about how you're feeling about it?"

"Nope" Peyton says

Lucas sighs "Ok" he says helping her finish the dishes

Once the dishes are done Peyton goes and helps the kids with their spelling and then lets them watch TV for a little while. Lucas is sitting in the living room with them.

"You should go write" Peyton sighs

"I'm good" Lucas answers

Peyton just sighs again. It bothers her that Lucas won't go and write. He's only done it a couple of times since he found out she was sick. She wanted him to keep writing and stop putting his life on hold.

She's taken out of her thoughts by the phone.

"I'll get it" Peyton says getting up "Hello" she says into the receiver

"_Peyton" the voice says_

"Mama?" Peyton asks

"_Hey baby girl" _

"What's up?" Peyton asks surprised to hear her mother's voice

"_I haven't heard from you in a few weeks. I was starting to worry"_

"Oh everything's fine, mama" Peyton says "No need to worry"

Lucas looks up at her. He couldn't believe she didn't tell her mother what was going on.

"_How are the kids?"_

"Getting big" Peyton says smiling

_Anna Sawyer can hear something's not right in her daughter's voice "Peyton, what's wrong?"_

"Nothing mama" Peyton says again

_Anna sighs into the phone "Ok" she answers "Let me talk to my grandkids"_

"Hold on" Peyton says "It's grandma"

"I want to talk to her first" Sawyer says getting up quickly and Peyton hands her the phone

"Hi Grandma" Sawyer says into the phone.

Sawyer walks around the living room talking and laughing to her Grandmother and then she does something Peyton didn't think about.

"Mama has cancer"

Peyton and Lucas both look at her. Peyton can tell her mother is saying something to Sawyer and Sawyer walks over and hands Lucas the phone.

"She wants to talk to you daddy"

Lucas sighs and takes the phone "Hello, mom" he says

"_What in the hell is going on there?" Anna snaps into the phone_

"Peyton's sick"

"_Why in the hell didn't she tell me?" Anna yells_

"I'm not sure"

"_What kind? Why haven't you called me? What are they doing to help her? When did she find out?"_

"We found out a few weeks ago. She has Stage IIIb breast cancer which means it's spread into the lymph nodes. She's having a mastectomy on Thursday and we didn't call you because we're stilling trying to digest this all ourselves"

"_I'll be there tomorrow!" Anna says and hangs up the phone_

Peyton looks at Lucas "Well that's not good" he says

"Why?" Peyton asks

"She'll be here tomorrow" Lucas answers "And she's pissed"

"Great" Peyton sighs

"Why didn't you tell her?"

"I don't know" Peyton sighs "She doesn't need to worry"

"She's your mother, Peyton"

"You know what Lucas" Peyton snaps

"Mama" Sawyer says distracting Peyton form yelling at Lucas

"What baby?" Peyton asks turning to look at her

"We need to have baths tonight and it's getting late"

Peyton sighs "How about you go and jump in the shower?"

"Ok" Sawyer says

"Can I take a shower too?" Ellie asks

"Of course when Sawyer's done" Peyton says smiling

Peyton picks Ellie up and puts her on her hip. She walks up the stairs and carries Ellie into her room. She helps her pick out pajamas.

"Grandma's coming?" Ellie asks

"I guess so" Peyton says

"Is she coming to take care of you because you're sick?"

"She'll probably help us"

"Well she's your mama and mamas are supposed to take care of their kids when their sick like you took care of Emery last night"

Peyton smiles "Yeah, parents are supposed to take care of their children"

"Mama" Ellie asks looking at her

"What sweetie?"

"When you're sick who's going to take care of us when we're sick?"

"I'll do my best to take care of you while I'm sick and daddy's here to help you and I'm sure Aunt Haley and Aunt Brooke and now Grandma Anna will help you too"

Ellie sighs and walks over and hugs Peyton. "I'm sorry you're sick mama."

"Thank you" Peyton says kissing her daughter's forehead

"I hope you get better soon so you can stop being sad"

"Me too" Peyton sighs "Me too"

"Mommy!" Emery yells

"In Ellie's room"

Emery comes running in and jumps on Peyton's lap "Daddy told me to come find you"

"Ok" Peyton says "Why?"

"I don't know" Emery says shrugging

Peyton laughs and Sawyer walks by Ellie's room in her pajamas.

"I'm done" She says stopping when she sees everyone

"Ok, thank you" Peyton says smiling at her

"Will you braid my hair?"

"Sure" Peyton says "Just let me get Ellie started in her shower"

"Ok" Sawyer says walking down the hallway to her room

Peyton and Ellie walk into the bathroom and Peyton turns the water on.

"Do you think you can handle this on your own tonight?" Peyton asks smiling

"Am I big enough?"

"I think so" Peyton says smiling at her

"How about I leave the door open and you can yell if you need help"

"Ok" Ellie says with a huge smile on her face

Peyton hugs her as she walks out down the hallway to Sawyer's room. Sawyer is sitting on the floor brushing her hair and Emery is lying on a pillow next to her. Peyton stops at the door when she hears them talking.

"Will mommy poop her pants?" Emery asks and Sawyer laughs a little

"I don't think so, E" She answers "Mama has cancer not the flu. She's going to throw up a lot"

"So we'll have to get her lots of puke buckets"

"Yes, we will" Sawyer says "And we won't be able to jump on her and we'll have to hug her really really carefully"

"Ok, I'll be carefully"

"She's going to be really tired too"

"So she'll need lots of naps"

"Yep and sometimes we'll just have to lay quietly next to her so she can sleep"

"I can do that too" Emery says

"I know you can"

"Who's going to take care of us?"

"Daddy I guess" Sawyer sighs

"He doesn't know how to take care of us" Emery says "Mommy does"

"Well daddy said Grandma's coming tomorrow. She'll take care of us too"

"Ok" Emery sighs

Peyton decides to walk in now.

"Hey" she says and both kids look at her

"Hi mama" Emery says

Peyton sits on the floor behind Sawyer and Emery walks over and lays his head in her lap.

"Are you excited to see Grandma?" Peyton asks while she braids Sawyer's hair

"Yeah" Sawyer says smiling "It's been a long time"

"Yes, it has"

"I think she's mad at you" Sawyer answers

"Why is she mad at mommy?" Emery asks

"Because I didn't tell her I was sick"

"Oh" Emery says confused

Peyton finishes braiding Sawyer's hair

"Mommy!" Ellie yells from the bathroom

"Coming" Peyton says

Peyton gets up off the floor and walks back down the hallway.

"What sweetie?" She asks

"I need help with my hair"

Peyton opens the shower curtain and helps her daughter wash her hair. Then she helps her out of the bathtub and wraps her in a towel. The little girl bops down the hallway and into her room.

"Emery!" Peyton yells turning the water back on

Emery comes running down the hallway

"Bath or shower?"

"Shower" Emery says and Peyton smiles

"Ok"

Peyton helps him undresses and then helps him into the shower. She helps him clean himself and then takes him out of the tub and down to his room. She helps him get dressed and then the little boy looks up at her.

"Mommy" He says with the most serious look on his face

"Yes buddy" Peyton asks

"How come you got cancer?"

Peyton sighs "I don't know"

"Well I'll get you buckets to throw up in, ok?"

"Ok" Peyton says hugging and kissing him

"You're the best mommy ever"

"And you're the best son!"

Sawyer and Ellie are standing at the door

Mama" Sawyer says smiling at her

"What's up?"

"Can we sleep in your room?" Ellie asks

Peyton smiles "Sure" she says "Come on"

They walk down the hallway and Peyton tucks all the kids into her and Lucas' bed. She kisses them all and then turns the light off. She takes care of all their towels and puts everything away and then walks downstairs to look for Lucas. She couldn't find him and then walked into his study. He was sitting at his desk with a bottle of scotch and his chair looking out the window. Peyton sighs and walks over to him.

"Hey" She says "The kids wondered where you were"

"I needed a break" He says

"Are you ok?" Peyton asks

"You're pulling away again" He sighs "You're getting mad at me and trying to push me away"

"No I'm not" Peyton sighs

"Yes you are" Lucas says "You're having surgery on Thursday and you don't even want to talk about it."

Peyton picks up the bottle of scotch and pours herself a drink. She then walks around and sits on Lucas' lap before taking a sip.

"I'm sorry" She sighs

"Don't push me away!" Lucas yells "I'm your husband! I love you and I want to help you! Stop!"

Peyton jumps at his reaction. It was angry and it scared her a little.

"I said I was sorry"

"I know but…" he stops and takes a drink from his glass

Peyton lifts his face and lowers her head so their lips connect and she kisses him softly

"Please, babe, please don't shut me out"

"I'm pissed" Peyton says out of nowhere "I'm pissed that in 36 hours or so I have to go have my breasted removed! And I'm pissed that we're going to have to deal with my mom"

"She's pissed at you"

Peyton rolls her eyes "I know"

Lucas laughs a little. The two finish their drinks and sit looking out the window. Lucas runs his hands up and down Peyton's arms. She shivers at the contact. She turns and kisses him. He kisses her back. The two start to passionately kiss. Peyton moans into his kiss.

"How about we go to bed?" Lucas asks smiling

Peyton frowns "We can't" she sighs "the kids are in our bed"

Lucas smiles at her and lifts her off him. He sweeps her up and carries her to the couch in his office. He sits down and she straddles him. The two kiss passionately and their hands and mouths wander all over. Within minutes their clothes were off and they were making love. They finished at the same time sliding to the floor. Lucas pulls the blanket off the back of the couch and wraps it around both of them.

"I love you, Peyton" he says "Don't shut me out. I'm going to love you through this"

Peyton sighs "I hope so."

"Come on" He says helping her up "The kids will be freaked out if we're not in bed when they get up.

The two put their clothes back on and then head upstairs. They get ready for bed and climb in. They drift off to sleep their children between them. For the first night Peyton wasn't worried she just went to sleep because she was letting it go. It was out of her hands and she was just going to accept it.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Peyton Elizabeth Scott!" Anna yells as she opens the door and slams it behind her

Peyton jumps when she hears her mother.

"She's pissed" Lucas says as the two are standing in the kitchen making dinner

"Peyton!" Her mother yells again

"We're in the kitchen" Peyton yells back

Anna walks into the kitchen

"What the hell is the matter with you two?!" She yells

Peyton and Lucas turns to look at Anna who is standing on the other side of the counter

"Hello to you too mother"

"Don't you be flip with me young lady" Anna snaps "How on earth could you two not tell me that Peyton has cancer?"

Peyton sighs "Mom, please"

"No, Peyton"

"Anna" Lucas says

Anna turns and looks at him "Your mother will be here as soon as she can get a flight"

"You called Karen?" Peyton asks

"Yes!" Anna says "You two are going to need a lot of help. I can't believe you thought you'd be able to do this yourselves"

"We'll be fine"

"No you won't, Peyton!" Anna snaps "You're going to be extremely sick and Lucas isn't going to be able to work and take care of things around here"

"I'm on family medical leave so I'm not working while Peyton's in treatment"

"That's great but who's going to take care of the kids and do all the running someone's going to have to stay with Peyton and someone's going to have to run the kids"

"Well it isn't going to take you and Karen" Peyton sighs

"It just might" Anna snaps "Now why on earth are you cooking dinner?"

"Because I cook dinner every night, mom" Peyton says

"Not anymore you don't!" Anna huffs looking at Lucas "Don't you have basketball practice or something?"

Peyton smiles a little. She knows her mom just wants to take care of her and that it hurt her feelings that they didn't call her to come and help right away.

"I've been staying home to take care of Peyton"

"You're going to get wore out, Lucas" Anna says with a sigh "You need to go and get out of the house once in a while and you love basketball. Now, Peyton, go rest and I'll finish dinner"

Peyton just sighs and turns back to the stove.

"Peyton Elizabeth Scott, NOW!"

Peyton turns back and looks at her mother. "You just yelled at me"

"That's right!" Anna says "Now, get your ass on the couch and stop arguing with me!"

Peyton just walks into the living room and does what her mother tells her to do. Lucas stands there and looks at Anna.

Anna sighs "Luke" She says softly

"Listen Anna" he sighs "She didn't want you to know ok"

"I understand" she sighs "I was just going to ask how you're doing?"

"I'm fine" Lucas says "It's not about me it's about Peyton"

Anna walks over and hugs him "Honey" she says softly "It's about both of you"

Lucas just sighs "I'm good"

Anna didn't believe him but she wasn't going to push it. "Why is she starting dinner at 1:30 in the afternoon?"

"Because she's making spaghetti and homemade breadsticks"

"My recipe?"

"Of course"

"Perfect!" Anna says smiling "I'll be able to master this with no problems"

"Great" Lucas says smiling "I guess I'll head to basketball practice since you're here."

"That's a good idea. Where's Emery?"

"Napping and the bus drops the kids off at 3:45"

"Ok, Grandma Anna had it under control!"

"Thanks" Lucas says grabbing his keys and walking out of the house

Anna busied herself in the kitchen. She looked around and saw Peyton had the ingredients to make her favorite dessert. She smiles and got to work. She just wanted to take care of her little girl. She finishes the dessert and puts it in the fridge to set up. She then walks into the living room where Peyton is watching TV. She goes and sits next to her.

"Hey baby" She says

"Hi mama"

"I like your haircut"

Peyton runs her fingers through her now very short hair. "Thanks. I cut it because I didn't want the shock when it falls out"

"I know baby" Anna says

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you" Peyton says with a sigh "I just thought that if I had the surgery and treatment it'd be over and I wouldn't have to worry you"

"Peyton" Anna sighs "I'm your mother. I'm supposed to protect you"

"I'm scared" Peyton says laying her head on her mother's lap

Anna starts running her fingers through Peyton's hair "I know honey. I know" she says with a tear in her eye

"I'm worried about Lucas too"

"Me too" Anna says "But Karen and I will take care of him while he takes care of you"

"Thanks mama" Peyton says "Will you stay with him?"

Anna closes her eyes she knows what Peyton's asking.

"Mama, will you help him with the kids?"

"Baby girl" Anna sighs "don't think about all that right now."

"I need to know, mama"

"You know I will, Peyton" Anna says "I'll do anything for you and your family"

"Thank you, mama" Peyton says sighing

"Mommy!" Emery screams from his room

"I have to go get my boy" Peyton says getting up

"I'll go" Anna says

"No" Peyton says "I won't be able to carry him for a few weeks after tomorrow so I better go now"

"Ok baby" Anna says and Peyton walks out of the room.

A few minutes later Peyton returns with Emery on her hip.

"Grammy" Emery yells

"Hi baby boy" Anna says getting up and taking Emery from Peyton to give him a hug

"How about a snack?" Anna asks squeezing the boy again

"Please" Emery says smiling at his grandmother

"Come on" Anna says carrying him into kitchen.

She sits him down on a chair at the counter and gets him a snack. Peyton comes into the kitchen to check on her sauce.

"I have it under control, Peyt" Her my sighs "I wished you'd just take it easy"

"I don't know how to take it easy" Peyton sighs "I'm a mom! I'm always busy"

"Well not anymore" Anna says "Right now you have to put all your energy into getting better"

"I want mommy to get better!" Emery says from his seat

"Well she needs to rest if she's going to get better honey" Anna says

Emery turns to look at his mother "Then go rest mommy!" he says with the most serious look on his face

"Who's going to take care of you if I go rest?"

"Grammy" he says "She can do it"

Peyton laughs "Well since Grammy is here I think I'm going to go to the store and make sure we have everything we need for the next few days"

"Don't you dare!" Anna says "I'll handle all the shopping"

"I need to get out of the house for a little while"

"Then go" Anna says "But don't to the store because I will hand that"

"Fine" Peyton says grabbing her keys and walking out of the house.

She gets into her car and drives to her best friend's house. She gets out of the car and walks up to the door. She opens it and walks in.

"Brooke" She yells

"In here" Brooke answers and Peyton walks into the kitchen where she hears her voice coming from.

"Hi" Peyton says pulling out a stool and sitting down.

"Hey best friend" Brooke says turning around to look at her "What's wrong?"

"Anna Sawyer!"

"What's wrong with Mama Sawyer?"

"She's in my kitchen right now!"

"What is she doing here?"

"The kids told her about the cancer and she headed right down here"

"Oh" Brooke says "Was she mad?"

"Very! Then she yelled at me and told me to sit down and so I decided to get the hell out of there"

Brooke laughs "She's just worried"

"We all are" Peyton sighs

"You nervous about tomorrow?"

"I'm losing my breasts"

Brooke walks over and wraps her arms around Peyton "We can get you bigger ones once everything's done"

"I know" Peyton says shaking her head "It's just that…" she stops talking

"It's just what, sweetheart?"

"I'm losing one of the most important parts of a woman. Lucas will forever look at me differently"

"Peyton" Brooke says softly "You know better than that. He doesn't care about that. He cares that you're here to spend the rest of his life with him"

"I don't know, Brooke" She sighs "I don't want to have the surgery tomorrow"

"Peyton!" Brooke says excitedly "You have to! It's the only way to make sure you'll get better"

"I know" Peyton sighs "I'm just expressing that I don't want to"

"I know, honey" Brooke hugs her again "I know"

The front door opens.

"Mommy!" Jude says running into the house

"What baby boy" Brooke says

"Davis pushed me when we got off the bus"

Brooke sighs "Davis, sit!"

"But mom!" Davis whines

"No, but mom anything! Sit"

"I should get going" Peyton sighs "The girls will be home soon and it's going to be a long day tomorrow without me" she adds standing up

Brooke walks her to the door. "It's going to be ok" she says hugging her

"I hope so" Peyton sighs

"I love you, P. Scott"

"I love you too, B. Baker"

"I'll see you tomorrow when you're back in your room"

"Ok, thanks" Peyton says hugging her friend one more time.

She walks out of the house and gets into her car. She drives home in silence. She walks into the house to the sound of laughter. It makes a smile fill her face. She walks into the kitchen.

"Hey gang" She says as she walks in

"Mommy!" Ellie says running over and hugging her

"Hi sweetie" She says hugging her back "Where's your sister?" Peyton adds scanning the room

Anna sighs "She went up to her room"

"She's having the hardest time with all of this"

"I could tell" Anna sighs "Want me to go talk to her?"

"No, I'll go" Peyton says walking upstairs and to her daughter's room. She pauses outside the door listening to the music blaring through the door. She was definitely Peyton's child. Peyton knocks on the door.

"Go away!" Sawyer yells

"Sawyer Brooke Scott!" Peyton says

The music turns off and the door opens but Sawyer is lying back on her bed. Peyton sighs and walks over to sit on the bed next to her.

"What's up?" Peyton asks

"You weren't here when I got home today"

"I was at Aunt Brooke's house"

"You're always home when I get here"

"Sawyer" Peyton sighs "Things are going to be different for a while"

"Yea" Sawyer says rolling over away from Peyton

"Baby girl"

"Mom, I'm busy"

Peyton sighs "Ok, I'm going to go down and help Grammy with dinner"

"Fine" Sawyer says

Peyton kisses her forehead and walks downstairs. She sits at the counter.

"What's wrong, baby girl?" Anna asks

"I'm worried about her"

"She'll be ok"

"I'm not sure she will, mama"

"We'll make sure she is"

"Thanks" Peyton sighs

"Why don't you go relax and I'll have dinner on the table when Lucas gets home"

"Thanks mama" Peyton sighs walking out of the room. She goes and sits on the couch where Ellie was reading to Emery "You're getting pretty go at that" Peyton says sitting next to her

"Sawyer helps me read all the time so I can get better"

"Well you're getting much better. I'm proud of you"

"Thanks mommy" Ellie says snuggling into her

"Do you have any homework?"

"Nope, just reading and spelling"

"I can help you work on that"

"Sawyer said she'd help me after dinner because we have to get used to not having you help us anymore"

Peyton hugs the little girl snuggled into her "Well I have help you tonight so I'm going to"

"Thanks, mommy!" Ellie says smiling

"You're welcome sweetie" Peyton says kissing her forehead

Sawyer comes bouncing down the stairs "Ellie, do you want to do your homework right now?"

"Mommy's going to help me with it"

"I told you she's not going to be able to help us after tomorrow"

"Sawyer" Peyton snaps "Stop scaring your sister!"

"I'm just telling her the truth, mom" she says in a snotty tone

Peyton turns to look at Sawyer "Do you think I wanted this?" She yells causing the kids to jump "Do you think I wanted cancer? Do you think I want to be sick? Do you think I want to lose my hair and throw up all the time and not be able to make you cookies or tuck you in at night?" Peyton adds still in a yelling voice

"Peyton" Anna says from the doorway "Honey, she just a child"

Peyton looks at Sawyer who is now crying. She gets up and storms out of the room slamming her bedroom door.

"Come here, baby" Anna says to Sawyer

"Mommy yelled at me"

"I know" Anna sighs

"She never yells at me"

"She's just scared"

Sawyer sits there crying in her grandmother's arms. The door opens and Lucas walks in.

"What on Earth is going on here?" he asks hearing Sawyer crying

"Mommy yelled at me"

"Why would she do that?"

"Because she mean!"

"I am not mean!" Peyton says from the top of the stairs

Lucas looks at Peyton and sees she's crying too. He sighs and walks in and sits on the couch.

"Come here" he says to Sawyer and Sawyer walks over and climbs onto her daddy's lap. Peyton walks downstairs and sits down as well. "What's going on?"

"Mommy yelled at me"

Lucas sighs "Why did she yell at you?"

"Because I told Ellie I'd help her with her homework." Sawyer replies

"I'm guessing there's more to the story"

"She says I was scaring Ellie by telling her the truth"

"What did you tell Ellie?" Lucas asks

"That I have to help her with her homework because after tomorrow mom isn't going to be able too"

Lucas sighs and looks at Peyton.

"Then mom started yelling at me saying she didn't asks for this and she didn't want cancer and then she stormed off to her room"

Lucas laughed a little "she stormed off to her room?"

"Yep" Sawyer says

Lucas sighs "Why don't you kids go help grandma set the table while I talk to your mom"

"Ok" the three kids say jumping off the couch and following Anna into the kitchen.

Lucas looks at Peyton "You know she wasn't saying anything that wasn't true, Peyt. You're not going to be able to help them"

"She's mad at me!" Peyton says as she starts to sob "She's mad and she won't talk to me and it's not my fault, Luke!"

He walks over and wraps his arms around her "I know it's not babe, I know"

Lucas just sat there and held Peyton while she cried. He didn't know how to fix this so he just held her. Finally she stopped crying and wiped her eyes.

"Let's go have some dinner" she says with a sigh

"Ok" Lucas says kissing her softly

The couple gets up and walks towards the kitchen. Anna and the kids were sitting at the table waiting for Lucas and Peyton to join them. The two just sit down.

"Dinner looks great, Anna" Lucas says smiling

"Thank you" She says looking at her baby girl smiling softly at her

Peyton dished up dinner for Ellie and Emery. She cuts Emery's up and sets it down in front of him.

"Thanks, mommy" he says

"You're welcome" she says kissing the boy's head "Here ya go, Ellie" Peyton says putting the other child's food down for her

"Thank you, mommy" Ellie says smiling at her

Peyton looks at Sawyer "Do you need help?"

"I'm in third grade" Sawyer snaps "I think I can get my own dinner"

"Fine" Peyton says getting herself a dish of spaghetti

Sawyer went to scoop out a meatball and it falls right on the floor.

"Looks like you should tell your mother you're sorry" Lucas says "Looks like you still need help!"

Sawyer huffs and starts crying and the runs out of the room.

Peyton sighs and Lucas looks at her "You're not going to go after her?"

"Nope" Peyton says and she starts eating

Lucas just looks at her for a moment and then started eating his dinner. After a few more bites of her dinner Peyton sighs.

"I'll be right back" she says getting up and heading up the stairs

She walks to Sawyer's room and this time it was quiet. She knocks and doesn't wait for an answer just walks in.

"We need to talk"

Sawyer is laying face down on her bed.

"What?" She says looking up at her mother with a tear stained face

"What's going on with you?"

"You're going to the hospital tomorrow and you may never come home!"

Peyton goes and sits down next to her "Sawyer Brooke Scott!" she sighs "I am going to be home in one or two days"

"People who have cancer die, mom!" Sawyer yells

"Not always Sawyer and we've talked about this so many times. Why are you so upset today, honey?"

"Because of the surgery tomorrow!"

"I'm going to be fine and you can come see me after school"

"I don't want to go to school!" Sawyer says grabbing her mother and crying

"Honey, what would you do all day?"

"Sit and wait for you" Sawyer says between sobs

"Baby girl sitting at the hospital all day is not fun and when I come out of surgery I'm going to be super sleepy and I'll be acting funny from the medicine they give me. It might scare you"

"I won't be scared" Sawyer says "I promise and I can read quietly while we wait or draw"

"How about you come down and eat dinner and then we'll talk to your dad about it"

"Ok" Sawyer says wiping the tears from her eyes

Peyton and Sawyer go downstairs and everyone else is finished eating. Anna had put the food on the counter. Peyton made Sawyer a plate and put it in the microwave. She then set it on the counter where Sawyer is sitting. She got herself a fresh plate and sat next to Sawyer and they ate dinner together. Lucas walks into the room.

"Everything ok now?" he asks tentatively

"I want to go to the hospital tomorrow" Sawyer says and Lucas looks at her

"I don't think that's a good idea, Sawyer"

"I will be good I promise. I will sit in the chair and I will read and draw and no one will know I'm there. I know mommy's going to be tired and silly when she wakes up she told me and I promise I won't get scared. Please daddy can't I go, please?"

Lucas looks at Peyton and she just shrugs her shoulders.

"How about I come and get you from school at the end of the day and you can come right up?" Lucas asks

"No daddy" Sawyer says with tears in her eyes

"Please let me go, please"

Lucas sighs "Alright" He says "You can go"

Sawyer jumps off her stool and hugs Lucas "Thank you, daddy! I'm going to go do my homework" she says running out of the room

"Do you think that's ok?" Lucas asks

"I think you would have had to go pick her up from school anyway tomorrow so we might as well let her go"

"It's going to be a long day"

"Sure is" Peyton says "Where'd mom go?"

"She took Ellie and Emery to the park"

"Ok" Peyton sighs "I better get this all cleaned up"

"I'll do it" Lucas says "Why don't' you go get everything ready for the hospital tomorrow"

"I guess" Peyton says getting up and walking away. She goes upstairs and into their room. She packs her overnight bag and all the things she needs. She walks over to the dresser and pulls out a bra. Then she sighs and puts it back into the drawer. She won't be needing that after the surgery. She finishes up just as Lucas walks into the room.

"Hey babe" He says walking over and kissing her "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine" Peyton says "I'd just like to get this over with"

"I can understand that" Lucas says hugging her

"Mommy!" Ellie screams as she opens the front door.

Peyton sighs "Duty calls" She says kissing Lucas and walking down the stairs. She walks to the front door where Ellie was standing "What in the world?" she says looking at Ellie who was covered in mud.

"Emery and I were puddle jumping in the park and I slipped and fell into the mud. I grabbed Emery's arm and he went done too"

Peyton started laughing.

"Mommy, it's not funny!" Ellie says "I have mud in my pretty hair!"

"We'll get the mud out sweetie" Peyton says hugging her "Where's your brother?"

"Grammy is trying to get the chunks off his clothes"

"Ok" Peyton says "Let's get your clothes off and get you into the tub. We'll send daddy out to help Grandma"

"Thanks mommy" Ellie says hugging Peyton again

Peyton helped Ellie get her dirty clothes off and then picked her up and carried her upstairs to the bathroom.

"Lucas" She calls while running the bath water

Lucas appears in the door "What's up?"

"The kids fell in the mud. Can you go out and help mom with Emery?"

"Sure" Lucas says looking at Ellie who was still all muddy. He started laughing a little

"Daddy, don't laugh!"

"I'm sorry pumpkin" he says walking out of the room and downstairs to help Anna.

The three adults spend the rest of the night bathing the kids and getting them ready for bed. Once everyone was tucked in and Anna went and settled into the guest room leaving Lucas and Peyton to themselves.

Peyton is sitting on the couch and Lucas joins her handing her a cup of tea.

"I'm tired" She says yawning

"You should probably go get some sleep"

"It's early still"

"That's ok" Lucas says yawning too "I'm kind of tired myself"

"Ok" Peyton says

The two get up and head up to their bedroom. They get ready for bed and settle in for the night. Lucas holds Peyton tighter than he's held her in a long time and Peyton noticed.

"I love you, Peyt" he whispers

"I love you too"

Lucas kisses her and within a few minutes he's asleep. Peyton just lays there thinking about tomorrow. She was scared. She was sad and she didn't want to go to sleep because then she wouldn't have to wake up and have surgery. After about two hours she finally drifted off to sleep thinking about how tomorrow would forever change her life.

The alarm clock is blaring from the bedside table and Lucas reaches over and turns it off.

"Peyt" he whispers into her ear

"Hum" she whines back

"It's time to get up babe"

"Ok" Peyton says rolling out of bed and heading into the bathroom.

Within a few minutes Lucas hears the shower. When he hears it stop he gets up and heads into the bathroom. Peyton is standing at the counter drying her hair and he climbs into the shower. Within a half hour the two are ready and downstairs. They are surprised when they see Sawyer sitting at the table.

"What are you doing up?" Lucas says

"I'm going with you" she says eating her breakfast

"How did you wake up?" Peyton asks confused

"I looked at your alarm clock before I went to bed and set the one in my room:"

Peyton smiles at her smart girl

"You were going to leave me weren't you?"

"No" Lucas says "Grandma is coming with Brooke after they get all the kids off to school and she was going to bring you with her"

"I'm up now so I can just go with you guys"

"Ok then" Peyton says grabbing a piece of paper and writing a note "Run this up to grandma's room and put it on the door"

"No need" Anna says walking into the room "Did you think I wouldn't get up and tell you good bye?" she says

"I didn't know" Peyton says "Sawyer is going with us"

"Ok" Anna says walking over and hugging Peyton "Good luck today baby girl"

"Thanks mama" Peyton says "I'll see you later"

"Sure will" Anna replies hugging Lucas and Sawyer

"Come on baby girl" Peyton says

Sawyer grabs her backpack and follows Lucas and Peyton outside and they all get into the car. Lucas starts the car and pulls out of the driveway. They head towards the hospital in silence. Everyone was too tired to talk. Lucas pulls into the parking lot and parks the car. They all get out. They walk into the hospital and ride the elevator to the surgical floor. Peyton walks to the check in desk.

"Hello, I'm Peyton Scott"

"Hello, Mrs. Scott" the nurse says smiling

"We'll get your registered and then you can wait to be called back"

"Thanks" Peyton smiles at her

"Come around the corner and have a seat"

Peyton does what she's told to do. She answers the questions and signs the forms she needed to and then walks back to the waiting room where Sawyer and Lucas were sitting. Sawyer gets up and sits down next to Peyton. Peyton wraps her arms around her. The door opens and a nurse appears.

"Peyton" She calls

Peyton stands up and so does Lucas.

"If you just want to wait here we'll come and get you when she's settled in back there"

"Ok" Lucas says sitting back down next to Sawyer.

Sawyer snuggles into him "Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure" Lucas says as she snuggles into him

"What are they going to do to mommy today?"

Lucas sighs "They're going to remove the cancer from her breasts"

"And so they have to cut all her breasts off?"

"Yes" Lucas sighs

Sawyer just looks away. After about a half hour the nurse reappears to get Lucas and Sawyer to follow her back into the pre-op room. Peyton is lying in a hospital bed and Sawyer and Lucas walk in.

"I'm all hooked up" Peyton says smiling

"I see that" Lucas replies walking over and kissing her

"Come her baby girl" Peyton says to Sawyer who is standing back

Sawyer walks over and sits in the chair next to the bed.

"Are you nervous?" Sawyer asks softly

"A little" Peyton says honestly "Are you?"

"A little" Sawyer response

"It's going to be ok" Lucas says smiling at both of them "Everything's going to be ok"

Peyton and Sawyer just smile at him. A nurse walks into the room.

"Peyton" she asks smiling

"That's me" Peyton says smiling

"Are you ready to go?"

Peyton takes a deep breath "I guess so"

"Ok" the nurse says smiling

"We're ready for you"

"Great" Peyton says "Come here baby girl" she adds

Sawyer walks over to her "I love you, mommy" she says giving her a hug and a kiss

"I love you too baby girl" Peyton says hugging her tightly "I'll see you in a few hours"

Lucas walks over and hugs her and kisses her "It's going to be ok and I'm going to be sitting right next to your bed when you get up"

"Ok" Peyton says smiling at him

The nurse wheels Peyton out of the room and Lucas takes Sawyer's hand as they stand there and watch, tears falling down her little face.

Life with never be the same for Peyton again and with her life changing everyone else's life with change as well. Hopefully, everyone will be able to recover and life, although different, will be ok.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Brooke and Anna walk into waiting room to see Lucas sitting in one bank of chairs reading a book and Sawyer on the opposite side of the room curled up on a two person seat drawing. They walk over to Lucas. When he sees them he stands up.

"Hi" He says hugging Anna and then Brooke.

"Hi honey" Anna says

"Hey" Brooke sighs

"How'd it go this morning with Ellie?"

"She was upset" Anna says "But we got her off to school and told her after school she could see you all"

"Good" Lucas sighs "And Emery?"

"He did ok" Anna says "He was excited he gets to stay with Julian today"

"That's good" Lucas sighs

"What's up with Sawyer?" Brooke asks worriedly

"When we came out of the pre-op she just went over there and hasn't talked to me since"

"It probably wasn't a good idea to bring her here" Brooke sighs

"Really Brooke?" Lucas snaps "Don't you think Peyton and I thought about that? Don't you think we talked about making her go to school? Do you think I wanted to bring my daughter here to sit and wait while her mother had surgery?"

"I'm sorry" Brooke says quietly

"Of course you're sorry. Everyone's sorry! We're doing the best we can! Sawyer demanded to come with us and Peyton and I didn't want to fight with her. She's scared just like the rest of us and she's old enough to understand what's going on! She wanted to be here and I think the best place for her is here!"

"I agree" Anna sighs "Brooke didn't mean any harm, Luke"

Lucas just walks away. Brooke goes to follow him and Anna grabs her arm.

"Give him some space" She advises "He's under a lot of stress and he's just scared. Peyton's his life. She has been since they were little. You know that. They've been together longer than they've been apart. He didn't mean to yell at you"

Brooke just nods and walks over to where Sawyer is sitting. She sits in the chair next to her.

"Hey pumpkin" she says softly "Want to go and get something to eat?"

Sawyer doesn't look at her or say anything she just shakes her head no.

"We could go to the diner or a movie while we wait for your mom"

This time Sawyer looks up at her "I'm not going anywhere, Aunt Brooke!" she snaps "I'm waiting for my mommy to come out of surgery and then I'm going to go and sit by her until she wakes up"

"Honey" Brooke sighs "You're a little girl. You shouldn't be sitting in the hospital"

"Leave me alone!" Sawyer screams just as Lucas walks back in.

He rushes over to the two. "What's going on?"

"Nothing" Sawyer says with tears rolling down her face

Lucas looks at Brooke "What happened?"

"I just asked Sawyer if she'd like to go get something to eat or go to the movies and she got upset"

"I think you should just leave her alone" Lucas says firmly

Brooke sighs and walks over and sits down next to Anna

"Hey squirt" Lucas says kneeling down next to Sawyer

She just looks at him

"You've been awfully quiet since we left your mom"

"I'm just waiting" Sawyer says softly

"It's ok if you're scared honey"

"I know" Sawyer says wiping her eyes

"You can talk to me about it if you want"

"I just want to see mommy"

"I know" Lucas says taking a deep breath "I know. Do you want something to eat or drink?"

"No" Sawyer replies

"Your mom packed a bag for you" Lucas says smiling "I think your iPod is in it. Would you like it?"

Sawyer just shakes her head yes. Lucas smiles and walks over grabbing the bag that Peyton told him to bring because she knew Sawyer would forget all her stuff. He walks back over and hands it to her.

"Here you go kiddo" He says smiling "I'll be over there if you need me"

Sawyer takes the backpack with her name on it and smiles at her dad "Thanks" she says

Lucas nods and walks over and sits back down.

"How long did they say the surgery would take?" Anna asks

"3 to 4 hours" Lucas sighs "Unless they get in there and find more than what the other tests have shown"

"That's a long time" Brooke sighs

"Yea" Lucas replies

"What time did she go in?" Anna asks

"7 is when they took her back but who knows when they started"

"Are they going to come out with updates?"

"I don't know" Lucas replies "They didn't say they would. She's not having reconstructive surgery right now so they didn't have to factor in that time but they are putting the Hickman line in so that will take a little more time. I'm really not sure when we'll know anything"

"That's ok" Anna says "Would you like some coffee?"

"I'm all right" He says

Anna just nods. She looks at her watch and it's only a little after 9. She sighs wondering how long her daughter will be in there. Hoping she'll be out soon.

They all sit in the waiting room no one talking to anyone else. Lucas is reading a book, Brooke is in the corner on her phone and Anna is sitting next on the Sawyer with her arm around her. Sawyer had her earbuds in and is drawing. They wait and wait and wait.

Finally the door opens and Dr. Silver and Dr. Jenkins walk in. Lucas stands up and rushes over to them. Everyone else follows.

"Hi Lucas" Dr. Jenkins says "Let's sit"

Lucas just nods and sits down. Everyone sits around them.

"This is Peyton's mom, Anna and her best friend, Brooke" Lucas says softly "And our daughter, Sawyer"

"I'm Dr. Jenkins" she says "I'm Peyton's oncologist and this is Dr. Silver the surgeon. Peyton is out of surgery and in the recovery room. She's still sleeping but I think it would be ok if a nurse took Sawyer back to see her"

Sawyer smiles "Can I daddy?"

Lucas just nods his head yes.

"Come on, kiddo" Dr. Jenkins says smiling "I'll be right back"

After a few minutes Dr. Jenkins returns and sits back down "I think it's best that Sawyer not sit here while we talk"

"Thanks" Lucas sighs "So?" he asks

"It was worse than we thought"

Lucas sighs "Ok, what does that mean?"

"When we got in there her breasts were full of tumors, some we hadn't seen on any of her previous tests. Her cancer spread like wildfire. We removed 60 lymph nodes total. That's a lot. We usually remove between 5 to 30 with the medium about 15. We had to remove 30 in each arm."

"Wow, that's a lot" Brooke says

"It was and they didn't show up on the PET scan we did. That concerns us"

"What does this all mean?"

"It means that Peyton has a fast growing form of cancer and that it could have spread outside of the breast and armpit area since her PET Scan.

"That scan wasn't that long ago" Lucas asks confused "Just two weeks"

Dr. Jenkins sighs "I know. So what we're going to do is scan her again in 24 hours. She's not leaving the hospital before then and she's going to have a double dose of chemo before she leaves as well"

"That sounds like a lot" Lucas sighs "I think we should talk to her first"

"We will tomorrow" Dr. Jenkins says "She's going to be very groggy today and anything we tell her will just upset her"

"Ok" Lucas says

Dr. Silver looks at them and smiles "On a positive note I was able to remove everything successfully"

"That's good" Lucas replies

"Do you have any questions?" Dr. Jenkins asks looking sympathetically

"Is she going to live?" Anna asks

"We're going to fight this the best we can and give her all we have. Only time will tell how Peyton response to it all"

"Thank you" Anna sighs

"You're welcome" Dr. Jenkins says "I'll be in to talk with Peyton tomorrow. We'll also check how she's doing. We'll do the PET scan tomorrow afternoon and then chemo tomorrow night. We'll start it at 8 pm so it happens while she sleeps and then we'll do it again 8 pm the following night. She'll go home Sunday. We'll see her in the office Monday. I'll hook up her Hickman and show you how to start her chemo. You're going to have to do it every night Monday through Friday with radiation on Saturday."

Lucas shakes his head.

"I understand it's a lot but we have to fight this aggressively because it is spreading aggressively."

"I understand" Lucas answers "When can I see Peyton?"

"I can take her to you now" Dr. Jenkins answers "You two will have to wait until she's back in her room but that won't be long now"

"Ok, thank you" Brooke says nodding

"I'll come get you when you can see her" Lucas says standing up

"Thank you" Anna says

Lucas follows the doctor out of the waiting room and to the recovery room where Peyton was resting. Sawyer was sitting on the edge of the bed holding her mother's hand. Lucas walks up behind her.

"Hey pumpkin" he says kissing her head "How's your mom doing?"

"She's been sleeping the whole time I've been in here but the nurse says it's ok because of the medicine they gave her. She said I could sit on her bed and hold her hand as long as I sat right here and didn't move or pull on anything"

Lucas smiles at his little girl "You're doing a great job"

"Mr. Scott?" A nurse asks

"Yes" Lucas says turning to look at her

"Your daughter is a gem" She says "Peyton is stable but she's been sleeping the whole time she's been here. As soon as she wakes up for a little bit we'll move her to her room"

"Thank you" Lucas says as the nurse walks away. He leans over and kisses Peyton's forehead. He then pulls the chair closer to her bed.

"When will she wake up daddy?" Sawyer asks

"Soon baby" Lucas says "Soon"

Sawyer sits and rubs her mom's hand. After a few more minutes she leans in and whispers in her mother's ears.

"Mommy, wake up please" She asks and kisses her on the cheek

"Mmmm" Peyton moans and opens her eyes

"Mommy!" Sawyer says excitedly

"Hi baby" She whispers

Lucas stands up and walks over to the edge of the bed "Hey beautiful" he says leaning down and kissing her forehead

"Hi" Peyton says softly smiling at him "How'd it go?"

"The surgery was successful" Lucas says smiling "They got all the cancer out of your breasts and lymph nodes"

Peyton smiles "Good! Now what?"

"Another PET scan two rounds of chemo and then you get to go home"

"Ok" She says softly "Two rounds in one day"

"No, you're going to have to stay a couple days"

"Oh" Peyton sighs

The nurse walks over "Good to see you're awake" she says smiling "How are you feeling?"

"Ok" Peyton says

"How's your pain on a scale from 1 to 5?"

"About a 3"

"Ok" the nurse says "I'm going to get you some pain medication and make sure you're room is ready and then we'll transport you upstairs"

"Thank you" Peyton says

The nurse walks away and then returns with a vial and syringe. She draws the liquid out of the vial and then cleans Peyton's IV and pushes the medication through it. She walks away again.

"What was that?" Sawyer asks

"Pain medication for your mom" Lucas says "It's so she doesn't hurt"

"That's good" Sawyer says "Will she be able to have a lot more of that?"

"If she needs it" Lucas replies with a smile

"Oh good" Sawyer answers

The nurse walks back over "They're ready for you on the floor" she says with a smile

Peyton just nods a little groggily

"Come on, Sawyer" Lucas says "They need to unhook mommy from all the machines and they're going to move her"

Sawyer gets off the bed very carefully and then goes over to stand next to her father. The nurse unhooks all the machines.

"Are you cold?" she asks

"A little" Peyton sighs

"Ok" The nurse says walking away

She returns with a heated blanket and puts it on Peyton.

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling

"You're welcome"

"What room will she be in?" Lucas asks

"330" The nurse replies "It's a private room like you requested"

"Thank you" Lucas says "Our other children are going to want to come up and see her and I didn't want them to bother other patients"

"It's no problem" The nurse says "I can understand why would want a private room. She's a young woman and this is going to be very difficult for her the next few days. She'll want to be alone"

"Her mother and best friend are in the waiting room. I'm going to go get them and we'll meet you in her room"

'Sounds great"

"No, daddy" Sawyer says "I don't want to leave mommy"

"You know what" The nurse says sweetly "How about you come with us and help us settle your mommy into her room"

"Really?" Sawyer asks with huge eyes

"Really" The nurse says winking at her

"Thank you" Lucas says with a heartfelt smile

Lucas leaves the recovery room to go find Brooke and Anna. He when he gets to the waiting room Nathan is sitting with them.

"How's Peyton?" Brooke asks standing up

"She's very groggy and in some pain but she's ok"

"Did you tell her?" Anna says

"No" Lucas sighs "I just told her the surgery was a success. We'll tell her the rest tomorrow"

"Where's Sawyer?" Nathan asks

"The nurses let her go with them. They're taking Peyton to her room. We can go sit with her now"

"Great" Anna says grabbing everything in the waiting room.

The group went to the elevator and up to Peyton's room. The nurses were just finishing getting her settled.

"She's all set" The nurse that was taking care of her tells Lucas "Her floor nurse will be right in"

"Thank you" Lucas says

"We'll have some more chairs brought in too"

"Thanks" Lucas says

Everyone goes over to the bed where Peyton is sitting up

"How are you feeling?" Brooke asks

"I'm ok" Peyton sighs "I'm a little sore. How did it go?"

"Remember honey" Lucas says "I told you downstairs that the surgery was successful"

"Oh yeah" Peyton says "Sorry"

"It's ok honey" Lucas says smiling at her "Dr. Jenkins will be in tomorrow to see you"

"Ok" Peyton smiles softly at Lucas. Then she spots Sawyer sitting in the chair "Hey come here baby" she says

Sawyer walks over to the bed

"You can come sit up here with me if you want like you were downstairs"

"Ok" Sawyer says softly climbing up and sitting next to her mother.

"Hello, everyone" A woman says walking in "I'm Jen and I'll be Peyton's nurse tonight. How are you feeling?" she asks walking over to Peyton

"I'm a little sore. I think from moving off the gurney into the bed"

"Yeah that's not a very comfortable" Jen says smiling "I'll get you some pain meds. I'm surprised they don't have you on a morphine pump. I'm going to call Dr. Jenkins and see if we can order you one"

"Ok" Peyton says not sure what that means

"I need to check your surgery sites. Would you like everyone to step out of the room?"

Peyton just shakes her head no "It's ok. There's nothing there anymore for anyone to see"

"Do I need to move?" Sawyer asks

"No, honey" Jen says smiling at her "You're ok"

Jen rolls down the gown that's covering Peyton's chest. Nathan, Brooke and Anna walk over to the corner and start talking. Lucas just stands there and holds Peyton's hand.

"How bad do I look?" Peyton asks him

"Honey, I can't see anything. You have a bandage wrapped all the way around you."

"Ok" Peyton sighs

"The bandages are clean and the fluid in the drainage tubes look good and the Hickman line always looks good. It looks like tomorrow you're going to have another PET scan and some chemo"

"Ok" Peyton says again

"I'm going to go call Dr. Jenkins and get you a pain pump and would you like anything to eat?"

"No" Peyton sighs

"Ok, well let me know if you want anything"

"Thanks"

Jen walks out of the room and Brooke, Anna and Nathan come back over to the bed. An orderly brings in a couple more chairs so everyone can sit down.

"Get me a mirror" Peyton says looking at Brooke

"What?" Brooke asks confused

"I know you have one in your purse give it to me"

"What on earth for?" Brooke asks

"I want to see what it looks like"

"Peyt" Lucas sighs "I already told you that it's covered with bandages"

"And you're going to take them off so I can see what it looks like"

"No, you're not, Peyton!" Anna snaps "You can't afford to get an infection. Now just stop this. You need to rest"

"I don't want to rest. I want to go home!"

"You can't go home, Peyt" Lucas sighs "You have to have a PET Scan and chemo first"

"Yea, what's up with having to have another PET scan?"

"Dr. Jenkins will be in to talk to you tomorrow"

"So what are you keeping from me?" Peyton asks

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Anna asks

"I'm not tired" Peyton sighs "So tell me what's going on!"

"Nothing" Lucas says "Ok, nothing. Now, just lay back and relax"

"Whatever" Peyton shouts crossing her arms over her chest "FUCK!" she yells

"What's wrong mommy?" Sawyer says looking at Peyton with huge eyes

"I'm sorry honey" Peyton says "I shouldn't have yelled like that or yelled that word. It just hurt really bad when I did that" she states with tears falling down her face

"Are you ok, mommy?" Sawyer asks

"I will be in a few minutes. It just stinks a little now"

"Why don't you lay next to your mom, Sawyer and we'll order a movie and you two can relax?" Lucas says

"Can I mommy?"

"Sure baby girl just don't lay on me ok?"

"Ok" Sawyer says carefully laying next to Peyton who turns a little

"Why don't we go get everyone some lunch?" Nathan offers

"That's a good idea" Brooke says "I have to go feed Fiona so I think I'll come back later"

"Ok" Peyton says

"Anna, would you like to go with me?" Nathan asks

"Sure" Anna says

Lucas just smiles they knew Peyton needed some time alone. He follows them all out into the hallway.

"She's not ok" Brooke says

"Well she just had both of her breasts removed and now we just told her she needs another PET scan and she knows she has cancer and she's heavily medicated so I'm wouldn't expect her to be ok, would you?" Lucas says in respond

"No" Brooke sighs "But at the same time Luke…"

"At the same time nothing" Anna sighs "You two have been at each other all day. I know you're both scared but it isn't going to do Peyton any good for the people in her life to be fighting with each other. No, she's not ok but we all knew that was going to be the case. She didn't really want to have this surgery in the first place but she knew she should so now she has to live with the aftermath and she needs our support. Now, Nathan and I are going to go get something to eat and Brooke you need to take your bottles home and spend some time with your new baby and Lucas you just need to keep doing what you're doing and support Peyton"

No one said a word. They all just did what Anna said. Once Anna, Nathan and Brooke were in route to the elevator Lucas walks back into the hospital room. He smiles when he sees Peyton and Sawyer both sound to sleep in Peyton's bed. Jen walks in behind him.

"Let me guess" Jen says "Mom's her best friend?"

"Yea" Lucas sighs "I'm not sure how she's going to handle all of this"

"It's going to be really hard on her especially if she really only goes to Peyton for things"

"She does" Lucas says "We have two other children and Ellie, our middle daughter, and I are the best of friends. She plays basketball like me and always wants to hang out together. Our son, Emery, he could take or leave either of us depending on what we're doing. But Sawyer, there, she's Peyton's girl. She rarely talks to me. I don't know what that is. Maybe because I'm so busy with Ellie all the time. Maybe it's my fault"

"Nah" Jen says "She just doesn't share your interests and she shares Peyton's"

"That she does" Lucas says smiling "I just worry what's going to happen if Peyton…" he stops without finishing his sentence

"You can't think about it like that" Jen says "Have hope"

"I'm trying"

"Good" Jen smiles "Dr. Jenkins ordered a morphine pump so as soon as it gets here I'll come in and hook it up so Peyton can have a continuous flow of pain meds"

"Thank you"

"No problem" Jen says smiling and walking out of the room.

Lucas sits down and takes his book out of Peyton's bag. He reads for a little while until Jen comes back in carrying something.

"Pain pump" she says smiling

She walks over to an IV pool and screws the device to it. She then takes Peyton's IV and cleans the end before inserting the needle. She walks over to the device and programs it. She wraps the button around Peyton's bedrail.

"She can have a push every 10 minutes. It's also on a continuous drip. Her pain should stay at bay now once it gets under control"

"Ok, thank you" Lucas says

He goes back to ready while Peyton and Sawyer sleep. The door to the hospital room opens and Anna walks in carrying a bag.

"I brought you some sandwiches" She said with a soft smile on her face

"Thanks" Lucas says

"How long have they been sleeping?"

"Since I came back in here after we were in the hallway"

"Oh that's good" Anna says "Do you think we should wait to let Ellie and Emery see her?"

"I don't know" Lucas sighs "Sawyer's pretty upset by the way she is and she understands the other two don't"

"How about we wait until she gets home? I'll go get them from school and take them to the movies or something fun"

"That's probably a good idea" Lucas says "How about you take Sawyer too?"

"She's not going to leave Peyton" Anna says "Just keep her here. It's where she wants to be"

"Ok" Lucas says "Thanks for everything"

"Any time kiddo" Anna says hugging him

She walks over and kisses Peyton softly and then leaves. Lucas continues to read his book. Finally, Peyton stirs.

"Luke" she says softly

"I'm right here honey" He says standing up and walking over to her

"Hi" She whispers

"Hi" He says leaning over and kissing her forehead "How do you feel?"

"Tired" Peyton sighs. She looks down and Sawyer "You should take her home"

"If you want me too I will"

"She shouldn't be here and you need to go take care of Ellie and Emery"

"Your mom's with them. She is going to take them to a movie"

"Oh good" Peyton says smiling and kissing Sawyer's forehead

She stirs and looks at Peyton "Hi mommy"

"Hi baby girl" She says kissing her again "How about you and daddy go home for the night and hang out?"

Sawyer looks at her "I want to stay with you"

"Baby" Peyton sighs "You can't stay here all night and you've been here all day. You should go have some fun for a little while"

"Why don't you want me here?"

"Oh baby that's not it." Peyton says "But you're a little girl and you shouldn't be sitting in the hospital all day"

"Fine!" Sawyer says

"Oh baby girl don't be mad at me please" Peyton says "I just don't want you to sit here all day long just looking at me. I'm just going to sleep"

"Promise?"

"I promise sweetie"

"Ok" Sawyer says "I'll come see you tomorrow"

"Sounds like a great idea" Peyton says

Lucas looks at her "I'm not leaving"

"yes, you are" Peyton says "You're both going to go home and I'll see you tomorrow"

"Peyton, you're crazy if you think I{"m leaving you here alone tonight"

"The kids need one of us at home!"

"Peyton"

"No, Lucas" Peyton sighs "Go home!"

"Ok" He sighs "But I'll be right back in the morning"

"Sounds good" Peyton says smiling

Lucas kisses Peyton and Peyton hugs Sawyer and the walk out of the hospital room.

Jen walks in. "Your family leave?"

"Yea" Peyton sighs "I kicked them out"

Jen smiles "How are you doing?"

"I don't know" Peyton sighs "Just tired"

"Then rest"

"That's the plan"

Peyton drifts off to sleep wondering what's going to happen tomorrow and why in the world they have to run another PET scan and why they are rushing chemo. She knows everything's not right but she's too tired right now to worry about it. She just hopes it isn't another step closer to not recovering.

AN: If any of you read my other story a Family For Christmas. I'm working on an update but I'm not sure what direction to take it in so it's taking me a little while… But I am working on it! I hope you liked this update. Thanks for reading.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Peyton is sitting on the edge of their bed. She is trying to find the energy to get up and go take a shower. The PET scan showed that they had gotten all the cancer during the surgery and that it hadn't spread anywhere else. Hopefully, the chemo and radiation would keep it from coming back. Peyton had just endured a week of chemo and one round of radiation. She was sick and weak and tired but tonight was the basketball fundraiser at Nathan and Haley's and she was determined to get out of bed and go with Lucas.

"Hey what are you doing?" Lucas says rushing over to Peyton when he walks in to find her trying to get out of bed

"I need to take a shower" Peyton says softly

"Honey, you just had surgery and I've been doing the best I can giving you a sponge bath"

"Oh I know" Peyton says smiling weakly and placing her hand on his face "You've done an excellent job taking care of me"

"So why are you trying to get out of bed?"

"We have to go to Nathan and Haley's for the fundraiser tonight"

"Peyt" Lucas says "We're not going to that"

Peyton looks at him "You are the head coach of the basketball team you are going!"

"But baby you don't have to go with me"

"I'm the coach's wife and I'm going to be there"

Lucas sighs "Ok, but you can't take a shower yet"

"I need to wash my hair"

"Ok" Lucas sighs "I'll be right back. Don't move!"

Peyton just nods her head and Lucas walks out of the room. After a few minutes, Lucas returns with a plastic chair from the back deck.

Peyton looks at him funny "What's that for?"

"To help you wash up" Lucas says walking into the bathroom. He makes a little noise doing something and then reenters the bedroom. He walks over "Come on baby" he says "Wrap your arms around my neck and I'll carry you in there"

Peyton does what Lucas asks and he carries her to the bathroom. She feels so light and fragile. She hadn't eaten much over the week and she was starting to lose weight. It broke Lucas' heart. He sets her in the chair that's in the shower. He lifts her shirt off over her head and then helps her slide out of her underwear. He looks at her. She hadn't said much about the bandages or the fact that she'd lost her breasts. She really hadn't had the energy to do much of anything. The chemo had really kicked her ass and she mostly just slept.

"I'm hideous, I know" she says

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asks

"I'm a flat at you are now!" She sighs "I look like a little boy!"

"Honey" Lucas says "You're beautiful like you've always been and always will be"

"Lucas" Peyton snaps "I have no breasts! I've lost like 15 pounds this week and I have tubes coming out of my body everywhere! I am far from beautiful"

Lucas leans in and kisses her passionately on the mouth. "No matter what happens to your body you will always be my beautiful wife and I will always love you no matter what!"

Peyton leans her forehead against his and smiles softly "You can leave you know. No one would blame you. Dealing with a wife with cancer isn't easy. You can walk out of that door and not look back. I won't hate you. I'll understand"

"Peyton Elizabeth Scott!" Lucas snaps "There is no way in hell I'd ever leave you! You are my life and you know that. It doesn't matter what your body looks like you're my wife, my best friend, the love of my life and we're in this together. Now you don't have to go tonight if you don't want to"

"I want to go"

"Ok" Lucas says kissing her again "We need to change your dressings and empty your drains"

Peyton just nods. Lucas carefully unwraps the bandages wrapped around his wife and he dumps the drains down the drain of the tube. After that he wraps her Hickman line like the doctor taught him so it didn't get wet. He was nervous about giving Peyton a shower but she wanted one.

"I'm going to be really careful and we can't get your incisions wet."

"If we just wash my hair then we can use the wipes from the hospital to take care of the rest"

"I'll help you shower" Lucas smiles "I know how badly you want to take one"

"Thanks" Peyton smiles

Lucas takes the shower head down and turns it on to let the water warm up. Once it was warm enough he helps Peyton stand up.

"Let's do your lower half first and then I'll wash your hair"

"Thanks" Peyton says wrapping her arms around Lucas' neck while he bathes her gentle.

Once her lower region is clean he helps her sit down. Then he starts to wet down her hair. He runs his hand through it and freezes when he sees a clump of it on his hand.

"What's wrong?" Peyton asks

"Nothing" He says

"Lucas" Peyton says turning to look at him and freezes when she sees it. She quickly runs her hands through her hair and clumps of it come out.

"It's fine, honey" Lucas says "They told us this would happen. I'm sure it will be fine"

Tears fill Peyton's eyes

"I'll just be more careful"

Lucas continued to wash Peyton's hair as more of it falls out in his hands.

"I can feel it falling out, Luke"

"Honey, it's ok. It's going to be ok"

Peyton starts sobbing and Lucas just grabs her and falls to the floor. He sits there holding her as the water runs all over him. He holds her close as she cries. Tears fill his eyes and fall down her face.

"We're not going tonight"

"We have to go" Peyton says through her tears

"No, we don't!" Lucas snaps "Skillz can handle it. Everyone understands what we're going through"

"Lucas" Peyton says wiping her tears from her eyes "We are going. I don't have the strengthen to argue with you. Please help me get off this floor and help me back into bed for a little while. While I'm resting please call Brooke. I'm going to need her help"

Lucas wipes his eyes quickly and does as his wife asks. Once he has her settled back into bed and she has fallen back to sleep he goes into the bathroom and slides down with his back to the tub. He picks up the clumps of Peyton's hair and starts sobbing. Anna walks in and sees him there. She slides down next to him.

"This is so unfair" He says crying "My Peyton, the love of my life, suffering! Look!" She says holding up her hair "It's all falling out! Fucking cancer!" He screams as he continues to cry

Anna wraps her arms around him holding him while he sobbed and sobbed. Anna knew he needed to cry. He hadn't done it yet. He was being so strong but the loss of Peyton's hair was too much and he just couldn't stop crying.

After sitting there for about 10 minutes, he took at deep breath and looked at Anna.

"She wants me to call Brooke" Lucas says sniffling "She said she's going to need Brooke's help getting ready"

"I don't think she should go tonight"

"I told her that" Lucas sighs "But she won't listen"

"Ok" Anna sighs "Then I guess we just need to help her get ready"

"Ok" Lucas sighs "I'll go call Brooke"

Lucas gets up and helps Anna up. They both walk out of the bathroom to see Sawyer laying on the bed next to Peyton.

"What are you doing here honey?" Lucas asks

"I just wanted to sit with mommy" She says softly "I promise I've been really quiet and I haven't moved either so I wouldn't risk hitting her."

Lucas smiles at her "How about we go and have a snack while mommy rests?"

"I promise daddy I won't bother her I just want to be near her"

"She's fine, Luke" Peyton says in a scratchy voice "I have to get up and get ready anyway" She says softly

Sawyer smiles at her "Hi mommy"

"Hi baby" Peyton says smiling at her daughter

"You sound like you need a drink"

"I do" Peyton says softly

"I'll go get you one"

"Thank you"

Sawyer gets off the bed carefully and runs out of the room. Peyton slowly sets up. She notices the clumps of hair on her pillow.

"Did you call Brooke?" She asks taking it in her hand holding it for her mother and Lucas to see.

"No, I'm going to do that right now"

Peyton just nods and Lucas walks out of the room to get his phone and call Brooke.

"I can help you" Anna says

"I just want Brooke" Peyton sighs

"Ok baby" Anna says with a sympathetic look on her face "I'm going to go check on the kids."

Peyton just nods as her mother leaves the room. She holds her hair in her hand and tears fall down her face. She reaches up and starts pulling on it. Strands and strands come out in her hand. Sawyer walks in seeing all the hair in her mother's hand. She rushes over to the bed and climb behind her mother wrapping her little arms around her.

"It's ok, mommy" Sawyer says softly "It will all grow back. I promise it will. I read so online"

Peyton turns her head and kisses her little girl on the check "Thanks baby" she says wiping the tears from her eyes. "Will you go get the comb out of the bathroom?"

"Sure" Sawyer says jumping off the bed and running into the bathroom. She returns shortly with the comb. "Here mommy" she says going to hand it to her

"Will you help me?"

"What do you need mommy?"

"Will you come up on the bed and comb my hair slowly?"

Sawyer looks at her "But more hair will fall out"

"I know' Peyton says "And if you don't want to watch my hair come out I'll have grandma do it"

Sawyer takes a deep breath "Nope, mommy" she says with a smile "I can do it!"

Sawyer back up behind her mother and puts one hand on her head and the starts combing it slowly. The hair is sticking in the comb.

"Will you show me the comb?" Peyton asks

Sawyer shows her mom the comb and Peyton takes the hair off adding it to the clump she had in her hand.

"Ok, keeping combing"

Sawyer continued to come her mother's hair showing it to her every once in a while. Every time Peyton took the hair off. After a 15 minutes Brooke walks into the room.

"What are you two doing?"

"I'm combing all of the hair that's loose in mommy's hair out for her"

"That sounds like a tough job" Brooke says

"I don't mind doing it" Sawyer says

"Would you like me to take over?" Brooke asks

Sawyer looks at her "I think I got most of it out for now" Sawyer says proud of herself

"Then how about you go downstairs and watch Fiona for me?"

"Sure" Sawyer says knowing her aunt wants her out of the room.

Sawyer runs out of the room and Brooke walks over and sits down next to Peyton. She wraps her in a huge hug. Peyton holds up all the hair in her hand. Brooke sighs.

"We knew this was going to happen" Brooke says softly

"I know" Peyton says "It's just" she says pausing "Look" she says as she holds up her hair "And look at all the patchiness in my head now"

"Lucas!" Brooke yells

Within 2 minutes Lucas is standing in the doorway.

"What's up?" He says

"Do you have a haircut kit?"

"Yes" He says looking at her funny

"I need it"

"Ok" Lucas says walking into the bathroom

"I need a towel too"

Lucas returns with the haircut kit and some towels. He hands them to Brooke.

"What are you going to do?"

Peyton takes a deep breath "She's going to shave my head"

"Brooke!" Lucas yells "Don't do that!"

"Look at it, Luke" Peyton sighs "It looks horrible"

"We don't have a wig!" Lucas says "We didn't pick one out yet"

"It's ok" Peyton sighs "I'll wear a scarf"

"Are you ready?" Brooke says with a smile

"I guess" Peyton replies

Brooke gets off the bed and plugs the clippers in. She lays out the towels. Peyton takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She hears the clippers going but doesn't feel them. She opens her eyes to see Lucas' mouth wide open. She turns to look at Brooke who had just ran the clipper through her hair.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Peyton asks gasping with tears in her eyes

"Shaving my head" Brooke says as she runs the clipper through it again

"Why in the world would you do that?"

"Because you are my best friend and you're going to be bald so I'm going to be bald. We'll look sexy hot together"

"Brooke, that's insane!"

"Maybe it is but does it make you feel better?"

Peyton smiles "Yes"

"Ok, then" Brooke says as she continues to shave her head.

"Thank you" Peyton says now fully crying as she hugs Brooke

"You're welcome" Brooke says hugging her back.

Brooke finishes shaving her head and then shaves what hair is left on Peyton's head. She helps Peyton into the bathroom to look at herself.

"We're bald" Peyton says with a sigh

"Yes, we are" Brooke says "And we're going to be the hottest bitches at the party tonight!"

"We can wear a scarf?" Peyton sighs

"We don't need to do that" Brooke says "We look sexy hot!"

Peyton smiles.

"Do you need help getting ready?"

Peyton nods yes

"Ok, I have to go feed Fiona so why don't you rest for a few minutes and then I'll be back to help you"

Peyton hugs Brooke as tight as she can which isn't very tight right now.

"Thank you so much" Peyton smiles at her

"What are best friends for?" Brooke says with a smile walking out of the room.

Peyton turns and looks at Lucas "Well?" She says rubbing her head

"You look beautiful" he smiles at her

"I'm sure that's not the truth but do I look ok?"

"I wouldn't lie to you, Peyt" He says softly "You look beautiful"

"Thank you" She says as she settles back on the bed. The activities of the day were taking a lot out of her. "I hope Julian isn't mad"

"I'm sure she told him she was going to do it before they came over"

"I hope so" Peyton says yawning

"Why don't you rest for a little while?"

"Ok" Peyton says closing her eyes

She falls asleep pretty fast and when she wakes up Brooke is sitting in the chair in the corner dressed and ready to go.

"What time is it?"

"5:15"

"Oh no! We're going to have to hurry. Why didn't someone wake me?"

"Because you've been through hell, Peyt" Brooke says "And you need you're rest." She adds getting up and walking over to her "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit" Peyton sighs "At least I'm not throwing up today"

"That's good" Brooke says

Peyton tries to sit up.

"I'll help you" Brooke says wrapping her arms around her friend and helping her sit up "You know Julian could be Lucas' date tonight and we could just stay home and watch movies."

Peyton sighs "No, Brooke" she says "I need to be there for my husband"

"Peyton, everyone understands"

"I know but…" Peyton stops with a deep breath

"It's ok" Brooke says "I understand"

"Thanks"

"Come on let's get you ready"

Peyton nods and Brooke helps her stand up.

"Wow your skinny ass is disappearing" Brooke says taking note as to how much weight Peyton has already lost

"I know" Peyton sighs "I just can't eat"

"That's ok" Brooke smiles "You'll eat when you're hungry"

"I suppose" Peyton reached up and rubbed Brooke's head "I can't believe you did this." Tears fill her eyes again

"Hey" Brooke smiles "No crying! I have my makeup on and I'm ready to go. If you cry I'll cry and I don't want smeared makeup"

Peyton wipes her eyes "What did Julian say?"

"He said I look sexy"

Peyton smiles again "We'll go wig shopping"

"I don't need a wig" Brooke smiles "But if you want one we'll go get one"

"I don't know" Peyton sighs "They say wigs are itchy"

"Well you think about it"

Sawyer walks into the room "I want to shave my head like you and Aunt Brooke" she says pouting

Peyton looks at her "I don't think so." She says "You have beautiful curly hair baby and I want to be able to brush it and fix it since I don't have any hair of my own anymore"

She pouts "Ok, fine. Do we have to have a babysitter tonight?"

"Yes, but just for a little while, ok?"

"Ok" Sawyer sighs and walks out of the room

"How's she doing?" Brooke asks

"Ok" Peyton sighs "It's hard on everyone"

"Yea, it is" Brooke says "Ok, come on"

The two women walk into the bathroom and Peyton sits on the bench that Lucas had gotten her. Brooke does her makeup.

"There" Brooke says standing back

Peyton looks in the mirror "Thanks" she says "You did a great job"

"Would you like me to help you get dressed?"

"Please" Peyton replies

Brooke lifts Peyton's shirt over her head. She notices the bandages are saturated.

"Is that normal?" Brooke asks

Peyton looks down "I don't know. Lucas usually takes care of them"

"Ok, I'll be right back"

Brooke walks out of the room and returns a few minutes later with Lucas. Lucas walks over and looks at Peyton's chest. He frowns.

"I'm going to have to change the bandages"

"Is it ok?" Peyton asks

"I don't know" Lucas says "I'm going to just take a peak. You've been moving around a lot today so we'll check it out"

Brooke watches as Lucas undoes the bandages. He takes a special towel and sprays it with wound cleaner. This is the first time Brooke had seen Peyton's chest since the surgery and she wanted to cry but was fighting back the tears.

"It looks ok" Lucas sighs with relief. "We'll rewrap it"

"I don't know what I'm going to wear" Peyton sighs "I have no chest to support anything"

"Honey, you've always had a pretty flat chest" Brooke says with a smile "I think you'll be ok and if you're uncomfortable you can put a bra on and we can stuff it"

Peyton laughs a little

Lucas puts ointment on Peyton's incisions and wraps her back up. Then Brooke helps her pick out a dress and put it on. Peyton and Brooke stand side by side in the mirror.

"We're really going to go like this?" Peyton asks

"Yes" Brooke smiles "And we're going to do it with pride"

"Ok" Peyton says with a sigh

The two walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Lucas and Julian were standing there having a drink.

"Wow" Lucas says smiling at Peyton "You look amazing" He adds walking over and kissing her

"Thank you" Peyton says rubbing the back of her head because she's missing her hair

"Peyton" Julian says with a smile "You look great! Don't worry about it" he adds winking at her

"Are you ready?" Lucas says

"Yes" Peyton sighs

"Mom, are you sure you don't want to go with us?"

"Yes, I'm sure" Anna says "I'm staying here with the kids"

"Ok" Peyton says

"You look great, darling" Anna says with a hug

"Thanks, mom" Peyton says

Lucas wraps his arm around her waists and helps her outside and into the car. They all drive over to Nathan and Haley's for the basketball fundraiser. They pull in the back entrance and park so they were close to the house. Peyton reaches into her purse and pulls two scarves out.

"I brought these" She says "Just in case"

"If it makes you feel better" Brooke says

"I don't know how I feel"

"Then let's just go in there and have a good time"

"Ok" Peyton says taking a deep breath.

Lucas helps her out of the car and into Nathan and Haley's back yard. Lucas says hi to people as they walk in and no one says anything about Peyton or Brooke being bald. They finally find their friends.

"Hey skinny girl!" Skillz says walking over and hugging Peyton "I like the new look. It looks sexy. I think it would be fun to rub you know"

"Skillz!" Lucas snaps "That's my wife you're talking about"

"Well she looks good and so do you B. Davis. Was there a special on getting your head shaved?"

Haley walks up tears fill her eyes "Peyton" She says and the she see Brooke "And Brooke?"

"I couldn't let Peyton support her new look alone so we both shaved our heads today."

"Hales, please don't cry" Peyton says "I took a shower today and it just started falling out"

"Oh Peyton" She says rushing over to hug her

"Careful" Lucas says "She's sore"

"I'm so sorry" Haley says backing away from her

"You look good bald" Nathan says "Now, let's not stand around staring at Peyton making her feel uncomfortable. This is a party! Let's have fun!"

Everyone agreed. Lucas found a table for Peyton to sit at and everyone stayed pretty close to her. She visited with a few people and ate one of Haley's appetizers because she kept bringing the tray over to her. She also had a small glass of pop.

The DJ started and Lucas walks over to her.

"Do you think you are up for one dance?"

Peyton smiles "I think so"

He helps her up and they walk over to the dance area.

"I can't believe she already lost her hair" Haley says and Brooke turns to look at her

"Well she's worked up enough about it so we just have to go with it"

"Yes, it looks like you went with it to the greatest extreme" Haley huffs

"I think it's cool you shaved your head for P. Scott" Skillz offers "I'm supportin her too but I'm always bald" he says with a smile

The song ends and Peyton and Lucas walk back over to the gang.

"Brooke and Julian" Peyton says "I need to go home" She says holding her nose

"What's wrong?"

"My nose is bleeding and I'm feeling really light headed"

"Ok, we can go" Brooke says standing up

"No, no" Peyton sighs "You guys are having fun. Lucas is going to run me home and then come back"

"No, I'm not" Lucas says "I'm staying home with you"

"Lucas"

"Peyton, enough!" He says

"Let's all go" Brooke says

Peyton goes to say something but as she does she passes out. Lucas rushes to catch her.

"Peyton" He yells "Peyton!"

She doesn't respond and he looks up "Someone call 9-1-1"

Brooke grabs her phone out and places the call. Everyone stands there waiting for help to arriving hoping that everything's ok with Peyton.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Thank you for all the reviews! This is a sad story I know but I'm trying to give a true depiction of cancer. And cancer sucks! Please hang in there and continue to read but please know there will be more angst before the happily ever after!

Chapter 12

The ambulance pulls up in front of Nathan and Haley's back gate. They EMTs rush into the backyard. Everyone was looking at what was going on.

"Get everyone to the other side of the yard!" Brooke yells "They don't need to be staring Peyton"

"I'll handle it" Julian says so his wife would calm down

"What's going on?" One of the EMTs asks

"She had a bloody nose and then just passed out" Lucas says

"Who are you?" The EMT asks

"I'm Lucas Scott she's my wife Peyton. She has cancer"

The EMT looks at him.

"What?" Lucas asks

"We need to get her to the hospital right away."

"Ok" Lucas says

"She's breathing" Says the other EMT

"Ok, let's get her on the gurney and head in. She needs to go right to oncology. Who's her oncologist?"

"Dr. Jenkins" Lucas answers

"We'll have her paged"

They get Peyton on the gurney and Lucas climbs into the back of the ambulance.

"Someone call Anna"

"I will" Haley shouts back at him

"Julian, get the keys we're following them" Brooke yells

"Ok, babe"

"We'll be there as soon as we can" Nathan says

"Go now" Skillz answers "I'll stay and hold down the fort"

"Are you sure?" Haley asks

"Yep and I'll head out as soon as I clear all these people out"

"Sounds good"

Julian, Brooke, Nathan and Haley all get into Julian's car and follow the ambulance. The ambulance pulls up in front of the emergency room. They rush inside and Lucas follows.

"We're heading straight to oncology." The EMT shouts

The nurse opens the doors and everyone follows. They head to the elevator and to the oncology floor.

"You'll all have to wait here" The nurse waiting by the elevator says

"I'm her husband" Lucas says

The nurse turns to look at him "As soon and we have her stable and settled we'll come and get you"

Lucas sighs and Haley grabs his arm.

"Come on" she says "The waiting area is right there"

The gang goes and sits down. They sit and wait while and then Dr. Jenkins walks out from behind the double doors they took Peyton behind.

"Lucas" she says walking towards him

"What's wrong with Peyton?"

"She's extremely malnourished. When was the last time she ate a real meal?"

"Not since she had her surgery" Lucas says "She just says she doesn't feel like eating"

"That's not good. We're going to give her an appetite stimulant. We're going to start with megestrol acetate. If that doesn't work we have other things we can try. The nose bleeding also called epistaxis was caused because the hairs in her noses are falling out and the membranes of her nose have weakened. Did she bump her nose?"

"She may have on my shoulder while we were dancing"

"That could have caused the epistaxis. We are giving Peyton nutrients, vitamins, and supplements intravenously right now. We're going to keep her at least overnight if not longer. We need to get her levels back up before we can send her home. If she continues to not eat once she gets home we'll have to put a feeding tube in"

"Ok" Lucas sighs

"She has a fighting chance here, Luke" Dr. Jenkins says "But not if she doesn't keep herself strong"

"Ok" Lucas says again "When can I see here?"

"No one can go in there until we check her blood levels and make sure she's not neutropenic."

"What does neutropenic mean?" Lucas asks

"Neutropenia is an abnormally low level of neutrophils in the blood. Neutrophils are white blood cells produced in the bone marrow that ingests bacteria. Neutropenia is a serious disorder because it makes the body vulnerable to bacterial and fungal infections. So basically neutropenic means that Peyton doesn't have enough white blood cells and is very susceptible of catching infections. If she's neutropenic everyone has to be masked and gowned before entering the room"

Lucas sighs "Ok" was all he could seem to say

"We'll have the results of her blood test shortly and we'll let you know when you can go in and see her"

"Thank you" Lucas says walking back and sitting down by his friends

"She was home with us so if she was at risk of being neutropenic then why would they let her home?" Brooke asks

"I think the rules change when you're in the hospital" Lucas sighs "Did anyone call Anna?"

"No" Anna says from the elevator as she walks off "Skillz just came over and asked me if I wanted him to stay with the kids while I came to see Peyton"

"I'm so sorry" Brooke says "One of us was supposed to call you"

"Listen, it doesn't matter" Anna says "What's going on with Peyton?"

"She collapsed at the party" Lucas says "And she had a bloody nose"

"Ok" Anna replies "What does all that mean?"

"She has to start eating or they're going to put a feeding tube in and the bloody nose was probably caused by bumping it on my shoulder while we were dancing because the membranes in her nose are damaged"

Anna sighs "Why aren't you in there with her?"

"We have to wait to see if she's neutropenic"

"Which means?"

"That she has abnormally low levels of white blood cells. If she's neutropenic she's extremely vulnerable to infection and we have to suit up before we can go in there."

"She was home earlier today and we didn't have to have anything on to see her"

"Well the hospital has different rules" Lucas sighs

Dr. Jenkins walks back into the waiting area

"Her levels are extremely low but not quite low enough to consider her neutropenic. We are going to have you change into scrubs since you were at a party but masks don't need to be worn."

"Ok, thank you" Lucas says

"If you guys want to follow me we'll have you change and then you can go in and sit with Peyton"

"All of us?" Brooke asks

"Yes, all of you"

"Thanks"

A nurse takes the gang to the staff locker room and gave them all some scrubs. They all change and then the nurse leads them to Peyton's room.

Lucas walks right in and moves a chair right next to Peyton's bedside. He grabs her hand.

"Hey babe" he says

Peyton opens her eyes and looks at him "Hi" she whispers "I'm sorry"

"For what?" Lucas asks

"For scaring you"

"It's ok babe. How are you feeling?"

"My head is pounding and I feel like shit"

"Well it's because you're not eating, honey"

"I'm sorry." Peyton sighs "I just haven't been hungry"

"I know" Lucas says standing up kissing her forehead "But Dr. Jenkins says that if you don't start eating they're going to but a feeding tube in"

"I don't want that"

"Then you're going to have to start eating at home"

"Ok" Peyton says

"They're going to give you some medication to help with that"

"Ok" Peyton says smiling at him "Can we go home now?"

"You have to stay overnight"

"I want to go home, Luke"

"I know but they have to get your feeling a little better before they can let you go"

"I'll eat something"

Anna walks over to the other side of the bed "Honey, you have to stay tonight and maybe a few more days but when you get to go home you're going to feel so much better"

Peyton looks at her mother "I'm not a child!" she hisses

"I know that" Anna sighs

"Hey Peyton" Brooke says walking up behind Lucas

"Will you get me out of here, Brooke?"

Brooke sighs "I can't, Peyt, but I can stay with you tonight if you'd like"

Peyton looks at Lucas and she looks scared.

"Will you stay the night with me?"

"Of course" Lucas says

"Ok" Peyton sighs. Then she looks towards the back of the room and sees the rest of her friends "Hey everyone"

Nathan, Haley and Julian walk towards the bed.

"Hey" Nathan says leaning over and kissing her forehead

"I'm sorry I ruined your party"

"Oh don't be silly" He says "It's not a problem. Just glad you're ok"

"You guys didn't need to come down here"

"Of course we did" Haley says smiling

"Well why don't you all go home to your children and mom, go home to mine"

"Don't you want us to visit with your for a while?" Brooke asks

"I'm tired and it's not right for me to keep all of your from your kids all the time. They need their parents. It's bad enough that my kids are without their parents."

"Peyton, the kids will be fine" Brooke says "All of them"

"Please just go home tonight and come back tomorrow"

"Ok" Julian says leaning down and kissing her forehead "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Just help mom with the kids while I'm in here"

"No problem" He says "Come on, Brooke"

Brooke looks at him "I'm not leaving"

"Yes, you are" Julian says "It's what Peyton wants and we're going to do it!"

Brooke hugs Peyton "I'll go but I'll be back first thing in the morning with food"

"Ok" Peyton smiles

Everyone says their good byes and then leaves. Lucas sits back in his chair next to the bed.

"No" Peyton says and looks at him

"What honey" He says looking at her

"Please come lay with me"

Lucas gets up and crawls into bed with Peyton. He wraps his arms around her. The nurse walks in.

"Mr. Scott"

"I promise I won't bump anything"

"Ok" she says knowing that most love ones sleep with their patients "I'm Lauren. I'll be your nurse tonight"

"I'm Lucas"

Lauren nods her head towards Lucas as she checks Peyton's vitals. "Would you like something to eat?"

"No really"

"Dr. Jenkins are written orders that you're not even to be consider for discharge until you eat at least 3 meals here"

"Ug" Peyton says with a sigh

"Are you just not hungry or do you feel sick to your stomach?"

"I'm just not hungry"

"Ok, I'm going to give you this megestrol acetate, which is your appetite stimulant, and then I'll come back in about an hour to see if you'd like to eat"

Peyton takes the cup with the medication in it and takes it. She then snuggles into Lucas and closes her eyes.

"I'll be back in an hour" Lauren says with a smile

"Thanks" Lucas says

He holds Peyton while she sleeps and in an hour Lauren returns. She checks Peyton's vitals waking her up.

"Hi" Lauren says with a smile

Peyton just looks at her

"Would you like something to eat?" Lauren asks

"Sure" Peyton says. She wasn't hungry at all but she knew she had to eat if she wanted to go home.

"What would you like?"

"Toast, bacon, and eggs, please" Peyton sighs "And extra buttery toast and grape jelly and a cup of coffee"

"No problem" Lauren says smiling "I'll order it and it will be here shortly"

"Thanks" Peyton sighs

Laruen leaves and Lucas looks at Peyton. "You're going to eat that?"

"Maybe" Peyton says

Lucas just smiles at her

"I just want to go home"

"I know"

Peyton snuggles back into him and closes her eyes. She sleeps until an orderly brings in her food.

"Thank you" Peyton says smiling

Lucas gets out of the bed and helps her sit up. He then moves the tray in front of her and she looks at the food laying there.

"Is it making you sick?"

"No" Peyton sighs

"Then just eat it"

"Ok" She sighs. She picks up the toast and putting jam in it.

She takes a bite and it doesn't make her sick so she continues to eat. Before she knows it she's eaten everything and drank the cup of coffee.

"I feel a lot better" she says smiling at Lucas

"See" He says "You just have to eat even if you're not hungry as long as you're not feeling sick"

"I will" Peyton says "Can you come back and lay with me again?"

Lucas gets back into bed with Peyton and the fall asleep for the rest of the night. The next morning Peyton eats again and with the supplement support her levels were increasing. Dr. Jenkins decided that she could go home as long as she promised to eat even if it's just soup.

When they get home, Lucas helps Peyton into the living room.

"Mommy!" Emery shouts when he sees her sitting there when he came downstairs.

"Hi baby boy" she says and he climbs up on her lap

"I missed you"

"I missed you too" Peyton says hugging her little boy

"Mom?" Sawyer yells from upstairs

"Yes" Peyton replies

Both girls coming running down the stairs and climb onto the couch next to their mother.

"I'm glad you're home" Sawyer says kissing Peyton softly on the check

"Me too"

"Come on you guys" Lucas says "Leave your mom be"

"No" Peyton says "I want them right here"

"You need to rest"

"I'm ok" Peyton says "I want to be with the kids"

Lucas smiles at her "Ok" he says "What do you want to do?"

"Movies" Sawyer says "That's something mom can do"

"Yes, it is" Peyton says smiling

"What's all the noise about?" Anna says walking from the back of the house

"Mommy's home!" Emery says smiling

"She was only gone one night" Anna replies

"But it was a long night" Ellie replies "No mommy no daddy it was scary"

"I was here" Anna replies

"But you're not our mommy or daddy" Ellie replies

"Well we're all here now!" Peyton says "And we're going to watch some movies"

"I was going to start dinner" Anna says

Peyton looks at her funny "It's noon" she says

"I'm making a pot roast"

"I love pot roast" Peyton says with a smile

Lucas smiles at her "Does that mean you'll eat some?"

"Of course" she answers

"Great!" Anna smiles "I'll get started"

"You sit here mommy and we'll make a snuggle zone so we can watch movies"

"Sounds good" Peyton says smiling as her children run away

Lucas goes to walk pass her and she grabs his arm and looks up at him. He bends down and their lips touch softly. She smiles at him. For the first time in a long time she was feeling a little better.

"I love you"

Lucas bends down and kisses her again "I love you too, beautiful"

The two kiss again and the kids coming running back into the room.

"Daddy, will you make popcorn?" Ellie asks

"Sure" Lucas says smiling

"I hate to ask, Luke" Peyton sighs "But could you bring me some Gatorade?"

"Of course" Lucas answers

"If we're going to eat around mom we need to wash our hands" Sawyer says "I heard grandma tell grandpa that mom can get sick really easy. She has nutro penis our something like that."

Peyton starts laughing "Neutropenic" she tells her

"That's what I said"

Peyton laughs again.

"Well anyway we all need to wash our hands!"

"Ok" Emery says "I have to go potty so I will wash after I go" the little boy says running out of the room.

Sawyer and Ellie roll their eyes at him and they set up all the blankets and pillows on the floor. Lucas walks back in carrying two bowls of popcorn, a big one and a smaller one.

"I brought you your own bowl" He says handing it to Peyton

"I can share with the kids" she says "They're all going to wash their hands" she adds winking at Lucas

"Ok" he says "Girls I'm not sure your mom can get on the floor or that she should get down there"

"Lucas" Peyton says "I'll be fine. I'm going to snuggle with my children and watch movies"

"We could have done this in our room"

Peyton smiles at him "It's going to be fine"

"What if they hit your lines or your nose or something?"

"Honey" Peyton says softly "I'm feeling really good right now. The Dr. Jenkins really fixed me up and we don't know how long it's going to last so let's just enjoy today, ok?"

Lucas just nods.

The kids all come back into the room.

"They're clean" Emery says holding up his hands as the water drips off them

Peyton laughs "I can see that"

"Mommy, we'll help you get on the floor" Sawyer says

"Thanks"

Sawyer takes Peyton's right arm, Ellie takes her left and Emery wraps his arms around her waist. They helped lift her off the couch and onto the floor. She did all the work but she let them think they were helping.

"Thank you for your help" she says smiling at them

"We need to prop her up" Sawyer yells "More pillows"

Lucas walks in and is laughing because they kids are running around grabbing pillows and stuff.

"What are you guys doing?" He asks

"Mommy needs to be propped up" Emery says

Lucas smiles "How did she get down on the floor?"

"We did it!" Ellie says with a huge smile on her face

"You guys are such big helpers" He says "Let's get your mom all situated and then I'll start the movie."

"What are we going to watch?" Peyton asks

"Brave" Ellie screams

"Again" Sawyer says with a whine

"I like that movie. If we had red hair we'd look just like her!"

Sawyer rolls her eyes.

"I think Brave is a good choice" Peyton says

"Really?" Sawyer says

"We need to watch a movie about someone being brave don't you think?" Peyton says

Sawyer hugs her "Yea, you're right"

"I wanted to watch Cars" Emery whine

"Hell no!" Sawyer says

Both Peyton and Lucas looks at her

"What did you just say young lady?" Lucas says

Sawyer's face turns beat red "I'm sorry"

"Where did you hear that language?"

"Uncle Skillz" She says honestly "But he told me not to tell you because we'd get in trouble. I'm sorry! Please don't yell at him"

Peyton looks at Lucas. "Don't say it again" she says

"Ok" Sawyer says "Do I have to go to my room for punishment?"

"Not this time" Peyton says

Lucas looks at her and she shrugs her shoulders and he just smiles at her. For the rest of the afternoon the family spent the time together enjoying the fact that Peyton was having a good day. It was the best day they had had since Peyton's surgery and everyone just enjoyed it not knowing how long it would last.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Peyton is trying to tie the scarf around her head. She refused to wear a wig because it itched like crazy and she just couldn't stand it.

"You know you don't have to go tonight" Brooke says walking in

"Yes, I do" Peyton sighs "The captain of the basketball team came over when Lucas was gone and asked me to please attend the game tonight."

"But you're neutropenic "

"I'm fine, Brooke"

"No, you're not!" Anna says "And I don't think you should go out tonight. You're taking a huge risk"

"I'll wear a mask and take hand sanitizer"

"Well at least you have good color in your face tonight"

"And I feel good too" Peyton smiles

"Did you eat today?" Brooke asks

"Yes, mother number 2" Peyton sighs "Listen, you two. I have to do chemo again next week and we know I'm not going to be able to do anything please, please just let me go tonight"

"If you're sick and still neutropenic there won't be any chemo"

"Good" Peyton says with a smile.

Peyton started her second round of chemo after her scare and hospital visit and she became neutropenic throwing her chemo schedule off. They doctor had given her shots to build up her white blood cell count but she had to take a lot of it during that chemo round. Not wanting to risk giving her too much of the shots they postponed her third round of chemo for two weeks and her blood count was still too low. They were waiting to see if it came up on it's own and if not she'd have to be hospitalized.

The first week she was miserable and sick and couldn't get out of bed but at the beginning of this week she started to feel better and now it was Friday night and even though she was neutropenic she was feeling good and wanted to go to the basketball game.

"Emery's dressed and the watching TV with the kids" Karen says walking in.

Karen had arrived the day after Peyton got home from the hospital. She was going to stay as long as she was needed. She and Keith, Lucas and Nathan's father, lived on the west coast. Keith was going to come in a few weeks for Thanksgiving and if he needed to he was going to stay.

"Thanks, Karen" Peyton answers

"What's going on in here?" She asks

"Mom and Brooke think I shouldn't go tonight"

"I agree" Karen says "Your white blood count is super low and it's a huge risk. At the same time, I know you're going to go no matter what we tell you so we might as well just help you so you don't lose all your energy"

Peyton smiles at her "Thank you"

Brooke and Anna sigh

"Ok, what do you need help with?" Brooke asks

"This scarf" Peyton sighs

"Why don't you just wear the wig I got you?"

"Because I told you it itches and it irritates my head"

"Ok" Brooke sighs as she walks over and helps Peyton tie her scarf. She then checks her own wig in the mirror. "Do you want me to wear a scarf tonight?"

"No" Peyton smiles "You like your wig so you keep in on"

"I can't believe you shaved your head" Karen says with a smile "You're a great friend"

"That she is" Peyton hugs her "She's lucky though her hair is starting to group back already"

"Yours will too once the chemo is over" Anna offers

Peyton just nods.

"Mommy" Sawyer says walking into the room "When are we leaving for daddy's game?"

"As soon as I get my Ravens jersey on"

"Ok" Sawyer says walking over and hugging her carefully "How's your sores?"

"They're a lot better" Peyton says softly

"Go tell your sister to start getting her shoes on"

"Sure thing" Sawyer says walking out of the room.

Peyton hadn't worn anything but Lucas' shirts since her surgery except for the dress to the fundraiser. She wore the baggy shirts to hide what the cancer took from her. She didn't feel like herself anymore. Most days she didn't feel like she could continue. Then she had this little break from chemo and she was feeling better. She wanted to tell everyone she didn't want to do the chemo anymore she just wanted to feel like herself again but she couldn't do that. She promised Sawyer that she'd take all the medication she needed to get better so she was going to do that.

"Peyt" Brooke says softly "You ok?"

"Yea" Peyton sighs "I was just thinking about how I haven't really wore anything but these big shirts since my surgery"

"I'm sure Lucas has a Ravens t-shirt you can wear" Brooke says

Peyton sighs "I'm sure he does" she says "But I need to face the facts that this is how I am now"

"You're going to have reconstructive surgery though, aren't you?" Anna asks

"Yea" Peyton answers "But I can't now until chemo is done. I can't have any surgeries"

Brooke walks into Peyton's closet. She comes back with a black skin tight t-shirt, Peyton's Ravens jersey, a pair of jeans, and Peyton's leather jacket.

'Here" she says "If you put all this on you'll look great!"

"I don't know about the t-shirt, Brooke, with my lines"

"Peyt, you are beautiful!" Karen says "Put it on"

"Ok" Peyton sighs

"We can put your bra on and stuff it" Brooke says winking at her friend

Peyton just smiles at her and takes the clothes from her walking into the bathroom. When she comes out she has her scarf on her head and the clothes on that Brooke picked out for her.

"Well" She says a little nervous

"You look wonderful" Anna says walking over and hugging her softly

Peyton wasn't sure she looked wonderful but it had to do "We should get going"

Everyone headed downstairs.

"Come on you guys" Peyton says cheerfully

Sawyer looks at her "Mommy, you look so cool with that scarf on your head!"

Peyton smiles at her "Thanks" she says sighing "I wouldn't say I look cool"

"I would" Sawyer says smiling

Brooke smiles at the little girl. She loves her mother so much.

"I'm so excited that we are going to daddy's game" Ellie says smiling

"Go get your coats" Peyton says

Everyone gets ready and heads out. They all get into Peyton's car because Julian was meeting them at the game. Peyton wasn't strong enough to drive so Karen said she would. They headed to the high school and parked.

Karen turns around a looks at Peyton "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes" Peyton says

"Lucas is going to kill us you know that right?" Brooke adds

"Oh well" Peyton says smiling at them

"Where is your mask?" Anna asks

"Right here in my purse, mom" Peyton says like a teenager

"Mommy, that was funny!" Sawyer says laughing

"Come on let's get in there"

Peyton gets out of the car and Emery holds his arms out to her.

"Mommy, will you carry me"

Peyton really hadn't picked him up since her surgery. She took a deep breath.

"Sure, sweetheart" Peyton says picking him up

"Peyton!" Karen yells "I can carry him"

"I'm ok" Peyton sighs putting him on her hip "Come on my girlies" She says turning and smiling at them. She holds out her hand and Ellie takes it. Sawyer walks right next to her. It's the first time they had been anywhere with their mom since she started chemo and they were so excited.

They all walk into the gym. Peyton looks around and doesn't see the team warming up. She just sees Lucas and Skillz. They walk over to the belchers and sit down next to Julian and Haley who are already there.

"What's going on?" Brooke asks kissing him

"We're not sure." Julian answers "Lucas said the team's not here yet"

"What?" Peyton says in shock

"Daddy!" Ellie, Sawyer and Emery yell and Peyton turns to look at them

"Shhh" she says "He's going to be mad I'm here"

Lucas turns when he hears his children and then notices his wife sitting next to them. He walks over to the belchers.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" he says to her from the bottom of the belchers and everyone turns to look at her.

"We came to watch the game"

Lucas walks up to stand next to his wife "You're not supposed to leave the house!" he says angrily then looking at his mother and Anna. "You two can't handle keeping her home?" he says

"Hey" Karen says "She's an adult and she wanted to come"

"I don't care!" Lucas yells "She's neutropenic and being here could call her!"

"She brought a mask" Brooke says

"She's not wearing it!" Lucas snaps at her

Peyton sighs "Lucas" she says softly "I'm not a child and I made the decision to come here. Now please stop yelling at everyone and go and find out why your team isn't here"

Just as Peyton says that the lights in the gym go out and the spotlights.

"Good evening Tree Hill!" Jeremy the boy that came over to the house to invite Peyton to the game says "I'm Jeremy Wilkins the captain of the Tree Hill Ravens"

Everyone starts cheering.

"Our coaches are probably going to kill us because we weren't here but we were busy washing cars all day and the cheerleaders were selling cookies for a very special cause. It's October and October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. With the help of Mrs. James Scott we have organized a Make Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk next weekend"

Everyone cheers again.

"As you all know" Jeremy says with a serious tone "Coach Scott's wife, Peyton, was diagnosed with breast cancer about a month ago. Mrs. Scott has already undergone surgery, some chemo and some radiation. She's lost her hair and has been pretty much confined to her home. She has a tremendous battle ahead of her and we want her to know that the students at Tree Hill High are here to support her. We're hoping that you'll all sign up for the walk on our way out of the gym tonight and come out next weekend and help us show our support for Mrs. Scott!"

Cheers erupt in the gym.

"Before we came here tonight the basketball team with the help of the cheerleaders did this"

The entire team was standing in a row and when Jeremy said that they all took off the baseball caps to reveal their bald heads.

"We shaved our heads for Mrs. Scott!"

Cheers filled the gym yet again.

"We tried to get the cheerleaders to join us but they looked at us like we were insane. They will however be supporting the pink uniforms that we ordered and our parents helped us get as will we! Please, show you're support and help us raise money to help with breast cancer research! Finally, we'd like to give Mrs. Scott and the kids something if they were able to make it tonight."

Peyton slips her mask on her face and Lucas takes her arm and helps her and the children to the middle of the court where the spotlight is shining. Everyone stood up and started clapping for her. She gives Jeremy a huge hug.

"I'm glad you were able to make it tonight, Mrs. Scott"

Peyton nods at him.

"When we ordered our pink uniforms we wanted to make sure you and the kids had one." Jeremy says taking a pink jersey out of a box and holding it up. On the front it says Tree Hill Ravens with a 01 on it. On the back it says Scott. Peyton smiles at the jersey. She takes the jersey off that she was currently wearing and slips the pink one on. The team helps the kids into their jerseys as well. Peyton hugs all the players and cheerleaders with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you" she says softly into the mic but that's all she could say.

"We also have something for Coach Scott and Coach Taylor. Come on out here guys"

Lucas was already standing there with Peyton and Skillz joined them on the court.

"We had these shirts made for you so you could support Breast Cancer awareness as well"

Lucas hugs Jeremy and smiles at him. "Thank you"

"Now, Mrs. James Scott helped us set this all up so everyone here is aware that the game will be delayed for 20 minutes so we can warm up. We'd like to thank Pontiac for allowing us to pull this off and agreeing to the delay of game. Please, please show your support tonight and next weekend! Now let's play some basketball!"

Everyone yells and cheers and the lights come back on. The Raven cheerleaders are standing on the side lines in hot pink skirts and matching tops yelling and cheering. Peyton looks at Lucas with tears in her eyes.

"You didn't know about this?"

"No clue" Lucas says looking Skillz

"I didn't know" He says "I was about to kick his ass when he started talking"

Peyton laughs a little. "Aren't you glad I came?" she says

"Yes" Lucas sighs "But I think you should go home now"

"No" Peyton says "I promise I'll wear my mask and just sit in the belchers but I feel I need to stay and watch the boys play tonight"

Lucas isn't happy but he just shakes his head yes. He helps her back into the stands and the boys come running out of the locker room. They all have shaved heads and they're all wearing pink uniforms right down to pink socks. Peyton smiles as she sits down.

"Mommy, these are so cool" Ellie says looking at her jersey

"They sure are" Peyton says smiling looking at Haley

"You could have warned me" She says "I would have put my wig on"

"You hate that stupid wig and you look beautiful"

"Did you guys all know?"

Brooke wiping the tears from her eyes "No, but I wish I would have! We would have donated money for the uniforms"

"That's what we did with the money from the party at our house and Nathan's team helped with the extra cost. The kids raised over 1000 dollars today with their bake sale and car wash. They came to me and wanted to do this for you and your family"

"This is amazing" Peyton says smiling "Just amazing"

The game starts and everyone cheers the Ravens onto a victory. After the game, Peyton once again thanks the students and promises if she's up to it she'll be at the walk next weekend. People donated money as they left and signed up for the walk. The cheerleaders and basketball players were super excited.

Lucas and Skillz joined the others who were waiting for them in the gym. Lucas walks over and kisses Peyton and hugs his kids.

"So who wants to go for pizza?" Peyton says with a smile looking at all of her friends

"Peyton" Lucas sighs "I don't think that's a good idea"

Peyton sighs "Luke, I feel good tonight"

"How about a compromise" Brooke says

"What kind of compromise?" Peyton asks pouting

"How about we pick up a bunch of pizzas and we go back to your germfree house and hang out?"

"That sounds fun" Jamie says

"We want to go" Davis offers

"Yea, mommy" Sawyer adds "Let's go to our house so we can play after we're done eating"

"Ok" Peyton agrees "sounds like a good plan"

Lucas smiles in relief "Come on baby" he says "Let's let the moms take the kids and we'll ride home together"

Peyton smiles at him. Lucas gave Julian and Skillz some money. They offered to go pick up the pizza and beer. Everyone else headed back to Lucas and Peyton's house.

"Let's hang out in the basement" Lucas says thinking that if everyone was down there then the germs would stay down there after everyone leaves.

"Sounds good" Haley says

"We can take some games and stuff down there" Sawyer offers "Daddy, how about you take the play station down there and hook it to the TV?"

"Or we could watch a movie" Jamie says not wanting to play his cousins dumb girl video games.

"Yea, let's watch a movie!" Ellie yells

"We can make a fort like Aunt Peyton always does when we spend the night" Jude says "We haven't got to come over here in a long time. This will be fun. Aunt Peyt, will you help us?"

Peyton smiles at her nephew "Of course" She says kissing his forehead

"Don't worry, Jude" Ellie says noticing he looks a little worried "You can't catch cancer"

"I know that" Jude says

"Then why'd you make the funny face?" Davis asks

"Cuz girls have cooties and Aunt Peyton's a girl"

Everyone starts laughing and Davis went over to his aunt and gave her a huge hug "Well I don't think girls have cooties and I'm glad we got to come over tonight"

Peyton hugs him back "I'm glad you got to come over too"

Lucas was very uneasy having all these people in his home around his neutropenic wife but she was laughing and smiling and that was priceless to him.

Everyone took care of everything and they wouldn't let Peyton lift a finger. The kids got all the supplies they needed downstairs for their fort.

"We're ready Aunt Peyt" Jude says

Jamie understood it like Sawyer did "You guys come on we can build our own fort and surprise Aunt Peyt"

Sawyer smiles "Yea, come on. Let's build her the best fort ever"

"Ok" All the littler kids yell

Peyton just nods at the older kids.

"Can I hold that baby?" Peyton asks and Brooke walks over to hand Fiona to Peyton.

"No!" Lucas says

"Why not?" Peyton says looking at him

"When did she have her shots?" Lucas asks

"At the hospital" Brooke sighs

Lucas thinks for a minute "Were they live viruses?"

"I don't know" Brooke answers "I didn't ask but it's been three weeks, Luke"

"Peyton, don't kiss her and you have to wear your mask"

"Lucas" Peyton says looking at him funny

"Don't look at me like that or I'll make you go upstairs"

"Make me?" Peyton questions a little upset

"My children aren't going to be motherless! If you want to hold Fi you have to wear your mask"

Peyton rolls her eyes and put her mask on. She then took Fiona from Brooke and held her tight. She fed her a bottle and watches the kids build their fort. Haley walks over to Peyton.

"Do you mind if I hold her for a little while?"

"No, here you go" Peyton says handing the baby to Haley. She was glad Haley had come to take the baby because she was starting to get tired.

For the rest of the night, the gang eats, drinks a little and laughs and plays with the kids. After a few hours Brooke notices that Peyton looks really tired.

"Well we should all get going" She says "It's late and I we need to get these monkeys in bed"

Haley agrees and everyone helps clean up and then leaves. Lucas helps Peyton up to their bedroom and into bed.

"I'm really tired" She whispers to him

"I know" Lucas sighs "Just close your eyes and go to sleep"

"But I had the most fun tonight, Luke" She says smiling at him "Thank you for not being mad"

"I'd never be mad at you, baby" Lucas sighs "I just don't want anything to happen to you"

"I know"

Sawyer walks into the room "Mommy, can I lay with you?"

"Sure baby" Peyton says smiling

Sawyer crawls into bed and then a few minutes later Ellie and Emery are in there as well. Lucas sighs. He doesn't know if this is a good idea but the kids were so happy that he just let it go. After a few minutes Karen walks in.

"What are you kids doing in here?" She says "You shouldn't be in bed with your mom!"

"It's fine" Peyton says "I've been so sick we haven't been able to spend time like this together. I'll be careful"

"But your chest?" Anna says walking into the room "What if they hit your surgery site or your lines?"

"Then they hit them. My surgery sites are pretty much healed and my lines are taped very securely to me. They need their mother and once my counts are back up and I start chemo and radiation again I won't be able to do this"

Anna and Karen both sigh and just nod and walk out of the room. Lucas laughs a little because they don't argue with her.

"I'm going to take a shower before getting into bed because of the germs."

Peyton laughs "We'll need new sheets anyway" she says motioning to the kids "So just come snuggle with us.

Once again, it felt semi-normal to Peyton. She didn't feel like she had cancer and that she took a huge risk tonight. She just felt like a woman who had an amazing night with her family and friends and she would cherish it forever. She knew everyone was worried about her but she wouldn't trade tonight for anything! She fell asleep feeling better than she had in a long time.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

It was the day of the Make Strides for Breast Cancer walk. Peyton was weak and very, very sick. She had round 2 of chemo and radiation, which meant she had chemo for 5 days straight 12 hours a day and then a day of radiation to her armpits and chest. She was very tired and she was neutropenic again but she was going today no matter what!

"Peyton" her mother says "This is a worse idea than going to the game last week"

"Mom, please" Peyton sighs having no energy to argue with her

"You're putting yourself at risk. When are you going to start thinking about your children?"

"Stop!" Lucas sighs walking in "She's too weak argue and she wants to go so we're going"

"Fine!" Anna says walking out of the room

"Hey baby" Lucas says walking over to the bed

"Hey" Peyton says with a weak smile

"How ya feeling today?"

"Sick" Peyton sighs

"Are you hungry?"

"No"

"I know" Lucas sighs "But you either have to eat something or drink one of those shakes"

Peyton makes a funny face "I'll eat something" she sighs

"Great" Lucas says "What would you like?"

"Oatmeal with bananas"

Lucas gives her a funny look now. "Ok baby whatever you want"

Lucas walks out of the room and returns a few minutes later with some oatmeal with bananas and orange juice.

"Thank you" Peyton sighs

She gags it down and Lucas kisses her on the forehead

"Thanks for eating, honey"

"I don't want a feeding tube" She sighs "Will you help me into the shower?"

"Of course" Lucas says picking Peyton up in his arms.

Peyton doesn't even protest she just warps her arms around his neck and lets him carry her into the shower. He helps her take a shower and then helps her get dressed.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks

"Yes" Peyton says smiling at him

"Ok" Lucas sighs

He helps her down the stairs and into the car. The rest of the family piles into the car as well.

"I just think this is ridiculous!" Anna hisses

"Me too" Karen adds

"Then you two can stay home" Lucas snaps

They both shut their mouths.

The walk took place throughout the whole town and ended at the Rivercourt with a spaghetti dinner and a carnival.

Peyton and Lucas compromised. Lucas, Karen and the kids did the walk and then came back to get Peyton for the dinner and carnival. The kids understood that she was weak and shouldn't be there but she insisted on going. She wanted to thank them for their support.

Lucas pulls up to the Rivercourt and the kids get all excited.

"Can we go ride the rides and play the games?" Sawyer asks

"Of course" Peyton says smiling

"Will you go with us, mommy?" Ellie asks

"No" Anna says "Grandma Karen and I will take you"

Ellie sighs "I guess that's ok"

Peyton smiles a little.

Lucas parks the car and gets the wheel chair out of the back. He pushes it to the passenger side door and opens it. Peyton looks at him.

"Are you serious?" She says

"Yes" he says giving her the look like get in this chair or else.

"Fine" She sighs and Lucas helps her out of the car

"Mask" Anna says handing it to her

"I'm not wearing that! We're outside"

Lucas gave her another look and she just puts it on. Then Karen hands her a thing of hand sanitizer and hangs a sign to the wheelchair that says 'please wash your hands before you touch mine'

"Are you serious?" She says rolling her eyes at them all

"Listen" Lucas says "We agreed to let you come so you have to play by our rules!"

She just rolls her eyes again. Lucas pushes her towards the food tent. They had saved the family a table near the opening so they could have the fresh air.

"You want something to eat?" Lucas asks

"I just ate" Peyton sighs

"I know but that was your breakfast"

"I'm not hungry, Luke" she says

"Ok" he sighs. He was hoping she'd eat again but he wasn't going to push her

"Will you take us to play the games now?" Sawyer says looking at her grandmas

"Sure" Karen says "Let's go"

"Me too" Emery says

"Of course" Anna says taking his hand "We'll be back"

"We'll be here"

Just as Karen, Anna and the kids leave Brooke and Haley come over.

"Hey" they say both giving Peyton and hug

"Oh" Peyton says giving them an evil eye "You touched me without washing." She says pointing to the sign on her chair.

"Are you serious?" Brooke says looking at Lucas

"She's neutropenic!" Lucas snaps "And she's really weak"

"But she's not a child!" Brooke sighs

"I can't believe you even brought her here" Haley huffs causing both Peyton and Brooke to roll their eyes.

"I'm starving" Julian says walking up and Brooke looks at him

"Where are the kids?"

"With Nathan"

"Julian!" Brooke says hitting him

"He said he didn't mind and Karen and Anna are there too"

Haley laughs "I'll go. We already ate"

"Thanks" Brooke says rolling her eyes

"What?" Julian says "I'm hungry. Who wants some spaghetti?"

"Me" Brooke says

"Me too" Lucas says

Everyone looks at Peyton

"I just ate some oatmeal"

"But it's spaghetti"

"And I'm neutropenic and I shouldn't eat food made by other people"

"Oh that's true" Lucas says "You're off the hook"

"Thanks" Peyton smiles

The basketball team all came over and talked to Peyton and so did the cheerleaders. Everyone was so happy she made it to the event. After a few hours, she was pretty sure she had talked to everyone in Tree Hill and she was extremely tired.

"Hey babe" She says looking at Lucas "I'm ready to go when you are"

"Ok honey" he says smiling

"I'll go get the kids and our moms"

"Thanks" Peyton says

Once Lucas was out of sight Peyton took off her mask. Her face was sweaty and itchy and she just wanted to be free of it. A few more people came over to talk to her and when Lucas came back he was furious.

"Where is your mask?" He snaps

"I took if off" Peyton says "It was very uncomfortable and hot"

Lucas doesn't say anything he just gets everyone ready to leave. They drive home and Lucas helps Peyton into the house. They are in the mud room next to the wash machine and Karen stops them all.

"Everyone needs to shower" Karen says

"Clothes off here" Anna says

Sawyer, Ellie and Emery were already striped down to their underwear.

"What are they doing?" Peyton asks

"We do this every day" Sawyer says

"You do?" Peyton asks

"Yes" Ellie says "We have to take our school clothes off and take a shower before we can come in and see you"

Peyton looks at the adults in the room "Why do you make them do that?"

"So you don't get sick. School-aged kids carry a lot of bacteria" Anna says

"Now take your clothes off too" Karen adds

"You people are insane" Peyton sighs "Kids out of the room"

"Right to the bathroom!" Karen yells

The kids run out of the room

"I'm not taking my clothes off in front of my mother!" Peyton says

"That's fine" Anna says "Turn around towards the door"

Peyton and Lucas turned towards the outside door. Anna striped down and puts her robe on. Then Karen does the same.

"Ok" we're going to go up and make sure the kids bathe and then shower. You do the same!" Karen says

"Clothes in the washer!" Anna says

"They are insane!" Peyton says

"They are just trying to protect you"

"Still crazy!" Peyton laughs

Lucas smiles. It's the first time he's heard her laugh in a long time.

"I love you" Lucas says again

"I love you too"

Peyton and Lucas strip down and warp in towels and head upstairs. They get into the shower together and then Lucas helps Peyton into bed. She looks weak and she's extremely tired.

"Take the kids and our mothers out for pizza" Peyton sighs

"No way" Lucas says "We're all clean again if we go out they'll make us do it all over again"

Peyton smiles at him "I know but you all just hang out here all the time taking care of me"

"We don't mind" Sawyer says from the doorway

"Hi baby girl" Peyton says

"May I come in?"

"Sure" Peyton says

"I got a new book from the library"

"You did?" Peyton asks "What is it?"

"The Lemonade Wars"

"Come here" Peyton says smiling

Sawyer walks into the room and carefully climbs onto the bed next to Peyton.

"What's the book about?"

Sawyer turns the book over to read the back.

" _For a full hour, he poured lemonade. The world is a thirsty place, he thought as he nearly emptied his fourth pitcher of the day._ And I am the Lemonade King.

Fourth-grader Evan Treski is people-smart. He's good at talking with people, even grownups. His younger sister, Jessie, on the other hand, is math-smart, but not especially good with people. So when the siblings' lemonade stand war begins, there really is no telling who will win—or even if their fight will ever end. Brimming with savvy marketing tips for making money at any business, definitions of business terms, charts, diagrams, and even math problems, this fresh, funny, emotionally charged novel subtly explores how arguments can escalate beyond anyone's intent."

"That sounds like a good book" Peyton says kissing Sawyer's forehead

"I thought maybe I could read it to you"

"I'd love that"

"I know you're kind of tired tonight so maybe I could just lay here and then after you've rested for a while I could read a little of it to you?"

"Perfect"

Sawyer snuggles into her mother.

"Peyt" Lucas says and Peyton just shakes her head at him. She was going to spend this time with their daughter.

Peyton drifts off to sleep and so does Sawyer. As she's sleeping she's getting warmer and warmer. Sawyer wakes up and is all wet. She looks and sees Lucas sitting in the corner reading.

"Daddy" She whispers

Lucas looks up at her "What honey?"

"Mommy's really hot and she got me all wet"

Lucas gets up and places his hand on Peyton's forehead. "Oh man" he sighs "She's burning up. Will you go get me the thermometer?"

"Sure" Sawyer says climbing out bed and running into the bathroom. She returns and hands it to her dad. Lucas places it on Peyton's forehead.

"Shit" Lucas says as the thermometer beeps

"What is mommy's temperature?"

"It's 103.2" Lucas sighs

"What does that mean?"

"We have to take mommy to the hospital"

"Ok" Sawyer says "What do you want me to do, daddy?"

Lucas looks at Sawyer. He can see the fear in her eyes. "Baby, she's ok. Sometimes when you have chemo like mommy has you get a fever and you just have to go to the hospital to make sure that everything's ok"

"Ok" Sawyer says "What do you want me to do?"

"Go get one of mommy's sweat suits."

"How about the green one that I helped you pick out?"

"Perfect" Lucas says smiling "Mommy's going to need socks and shoes too, princess"

"Ok, daddy"

Sawyer runs into the closet. Lucas shakes Peyton softly.

Baby, wake up"

Peyton moves a little but doesn't wake up.

"Baby, wake up" Lucas says again shaking her a little harder

Peyton opens her eyes

"Luke, what's wrong?" She asks a little confused

"You have a fever"

"Ok" Peyton says

"You have to go to the hospital"

"Luke, just leave me be. I'm not going to the hospital. Please, leave me alone"

"Peyton, you have to go to the hospital. You're fever is 103.2. You could be septic. We have to take you in, please"

"No" Peyton sighs "I'm tired and I don't want to go to the hospital"

Sawyer comes into the room.

"Daddy, I got mommy's outfit" Sawyer says climbing back on the bed "Mommy, get up we have to go to the hospital."

Peyton looks at Sawyer. Lucas knows she won't tell Sawyer no.

"Mommy, I'll help you get dressed. Daddy said you have to go to the hospital because you have a fever and we'll have to help you"

Peyton looks at Lucas and rolls her eyes. "Ok, baby" she says moving to the edge of the bed.

Sawyer carefully helps her mother get dressed making sure not to pull on her Hickman line or to push on the bruises she had on her body.

"Ok, daddy" Sawyer says "Mommy's ready to go. I'll help her downstairs"

"I can do it baby" Lucas says to Sawyer

"No, you need to get the car. I'll help her" Sawyer says

Peyton nods to Lucas that she's ok and he can go. Lucas leaves telling the moms what's going on and went to get the car. Sawyer helps Peyton downstairs.

"I'm going with them" Sawyer says to Anna and Karen who are sitting in the living room

"No, you should stay here" Karen says "Your mom is probably going to have to stay all night and a hospital in no place for you"

Sawyer turns and looks at her grandmother "You're not my boss!" she yells

"Sawyer" Peyton says "Don't talk to adults that way. You know better"

"I'm sorry" Sawyer says looking at Karen

"She can go with us" Peyton sighs "Lucas can bring her home later"

Karen sighs "Fine"

Sawyer and Peyton walk out to the car and Sawyer buckles Peyton's seatbelt then shuts the door and climbs in the backseat. Lucas looks at Peyton.

"Let's just get this over with"

Lucas nods and pulls out of the driveway.

"I paged Dr. Jenkins"

"Ok" Peyton says as she doses off to sleep.

They get to the hospital and go right to the oncology floor. The nurse is waiting for them.

"Hi Peyton" Betty says smiling

"Hello" Peyton sighs

"We have a room ready for you"

"Great" Peyton sighs

Betty pushes Peyton down the hallway.

"Mommy has a fever of 103.2 and she's neutropenic."

"Well then it's a good thing you brought her in" Betty says smiling at Sawyer

"I picked out her favorite sweatsuit. I also packed a few of her favorite things. We were going to start a new book I got after our nap so I brought that too"

"Oh are you staying?" Betty asks

"Probably" Sawyer answers "She needs me, you know?"

Betty smiles "Yes, she does"

Peyton smiles at Sawyer's words.

Betty stops at Peyton's room. "Here we are, Peyton"

"Thanks" Peyton sighs

"There's a gown on the bed with a cutout space for your Hickman line. Go ahead and get that on and I'll be in in a few minutes to take your vitals."

Peyton just nods as Betty walks out of the room.

"I'll help you mommy" Sawyer says bending down and taking off Peyton's shoes and socks. She then puts on the hospital socks and Peyton smiles at her daughter. Sawyer then unzips Peyton's sweatshirt and helps her take it off. Peyton lifts her arms and Sawyer takes off the t-shirt Peyton was wearing. She slips the gown over her mother's arms and then Peyton stand up and Lucas helps her get her pants off. She sits on the bed and Sawyer crawls onto it and ties the gown in the back. Peyton then lies down in the bed and Sawyer takes her Hickman lines out through the hole so the nurse can access them.

"Thank you" Peyton says to Sawyer

Betty walks back in with her cart to take Peyton's vitals. She hands Sawyer some hospital socks. "Here you go, Sawyer" She says "This way you can snuggle in the bed with your mom"

"Thank you" Sawyer says

Betty takes Peyton's vitals and writes everything down "Dr. Jenkins is on her way. She'll be her shortly. I'm going to start an IV with just some saline so you'll be already for her."

"Thanks, Betty" Peyton sighs "I hate to be a pain but I'm freezing"

"I'll bring you a heated blanket"

"Thank you"

Betty goes and gets Peyton a blanket and starts the IV. Then she leaves.

Lucas walks over and takes the chair next to the bed. "Well next time I'm just letting Sawyer bring you in she handled all of it." He says smiling at his daughter

"Yes, she did" Peyton says kissing her forehead

"I pay attention" Sawyer smiles snuggling into Peyton

"Good job" Peyton smiles "I'm going to rest my eyes for a few minutes"

"Ok, mommy" Sawyer says putting her iPod on. Lucas pulls out a book and starts reading.

After about twenty minutes Dr. Jenkins walks in.

"Hello" She says with a smile

Sawyer takes out her earbuds "Hi" she says smiling "Mommy has a 103.2 fever and she's neutropenic."

"I see that" Dr. Jenkins says looking at the chart. "I've ordered a CBC to see where we're at."

"Ok" Lucas says

"She probably is going to need an antibiotic and some other things and to stay overnight"

"That's what I figured" Lucas says

"Was she exposed to anything?"

"We went to the walk today" Sawyer says "But mommy wore her mask except for the last few minutes we were there"

"Ok" Dr. Jenkins says "Being exposed to something today wouldn't affect her this fast but we'll double the antibiotic just in case"

"Sounds great" Lucas says

"Someone will be here to draw labs and then we'll start her regiment"

"Thank you very much" Sawyer says with a nod

Dr. Jenkins smiles at Sawyer "You're so very welcome sweetheart"

She walks out of the room.

"You're a great helper" Peyton says

"Oh you're awake" Sawyer says looking at Peyton

"Yea I am"

"You need to eat" Sawyer says

Peyton smiles at her daughter.

"Ok, how about you go ask Betty for a menu"

"Sure" Sawyer says hoping off the bed and walking out of the room

"She's so helpful" Peyton smiles

"She's worried about you" Lucas sighs

"I'm scared, Luke. I'm so sick of this"

"Baby, it's going to be ok." Lucas says "I'm here for you. I'm going to keep the faith and strengthen for both of us. Please, just hang in there, honey. The kids and I need you"

Peyton just sighs

"Honey, it's going to be ok"

The door opens and Sawyer comes back into the room.

"Miss Betty said here's today's menu but if there's nothing on here you like she can see what she can do"

"I'm sure we can find something on here" Peyton smiles at Sawyer as she climbs back in the bed

The lab tech comes in.

"I need to draw some labs" she says smiling

"Ok" Peyton sighs

The tech pulls out her Hickman line and drew blood from it. Some spilled out on her gown.

"You got mommy's gown bloody" Sawyer sighs "Blood is very hard to get out"

The tech smiles "I'll have Betty bring her a new one"

"Thank you" Sawyer says

The tech walks out and Sawyer holds up the menu.

"So, what are you eating?"

Peyton laughs "I'm not very hungry"

"Well mommy you need to eat. You know they're going to make you"

Lucas starts laughing. Sawyer sounds just like him.

Peyton looks at the menu "How about you pick something?"

Sawyer looks at her "If I order it you might not like it. You should really order what you like"

"Ok" Peyton wasn't going to debate this anymore with her daughter "I'll eat a fruit cup and some toast"

"Sounds good" Sawyer says pleased

Sawyer walks out of the room and returns a few minutes later. Dr. Jenkins walks in with her.

"We have your blood count and it's very low. You have febrile neutropenia. It's just all part of chemo. We're going to start you on an antibiotic here at the hospital and you'll have to continue them at home. We're also going to start you on some colony stimulating factors. These are drugs that are given to boost your white blood count. We're going to use figastrim also known as (G-CSF). If that doesn't help we'll use sargramostim (GM-CSF). I'm also going to give you an anti-pyretic to relieve the fever."

"That sounds like you're going to give her a lot of medication all at one time" Lucas says concerned

"We're going to start then antibiotic first. After that's had about 45 minutes to run through her body we're going to start the anti-pyretic. Once that has had about an hour to run through her body we'll start the G-CSF. Then everything will be given in a regiment for the next 24 hours. If her fever breaks and her blood count comes back up we'll send you home. If not, we'll do another round of antibiotics and G-CSF and hope it all helps"

Peyton sighs and Lucas smiles at her "Thank you, Dr. Jenkins" he says

"You're welcome" Dr. Jenkins says squeezing Lucas arm as she walks out

"Sawyer will you go get me some water, please?"

"Sure, mommy" Sawyer says getting out of bed and walking out of the room

"Luke, I want to go home"

"Peyton" Lucas sighs "You have to have the medication"

"I just want to go home. I like my bed better and I like my clothes better and I just want to go home"

Lucas climbs into the bed with Peyton and wraps his arms around her.

"I understand I do baby but you can't. You have to stay here and get this medication. It will help you feel better"

Peyton just sighs and Sawyer walks back in. She gives Peyton her water. Shortly after that Peyton's food arrives and Sawyer makes sure she eats it all. It starts to get late.

"Hey baby girl" Peyton says kissing her forehead "I think you should go home for the night"

"No" Sawyer says "I have to stay here with you"

Peyton smiles at her "I need you to go home and take care of your brother and sister"

"But Grandma Anna and Grandma Karen are there. They can take care of them"

"But they have been sleeping in your room with you and if you're not there then I think they might be scared"

"Oh" Sawyer says "I didn't think about that"

"It would be really helpful if you'd go home and take care of them"

"I can do that for you, mommy" Sawyer says smiling at her

"Great" Peyton says smiling at the little girl "And you all can sleep in our bed tonight"

"Really?"

"Really!" Peyton replies "Give me a big hug and hopefully I'll be home tomorrow"

"I'll come back right away tomorrow"

"If I don't come home tomorrow then you can come back to see me"

"Sounds good" Sawyer says hugging her mommy "I love you"

"I love you too" Peyton says "Thank you for your help"

"You're welcome, mommy"

"I'll be back after I run her home" Lucas says kissing Peyton

"Ok" Peyton says

Lucas and Sawyer leave and room and Betty walks in.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired and very cold" Peyton answers

"Ok, I'll bring you an eclectic blanket"

"Thank you" Peyton says

She snuggles in and doses off to sleep. She spends the rest of the night sleeping. Dr. Jenkins and Betty comes in and checks on her several times. She didn't even wake up when Lucas came back.

"How's she doing?" He asks Betty

"We think the antibiotic is working. Her temperature is 101 so it's going down"

"She's very tired lately" Lucas sighs

"It's the chemo." Betty says looking at Lucas "Are you doing ok?"

"Yes" Lucas sighs

"Why don't you go home for the night" Betty offers "She's going to be sleeping and I'll take good care of her"

"I won't leave her" Lucas says "I don't want her to be alone if she wakes up"

"I'll bring you a blanket and pillow"

"Thank you"

Betty walks out and returns a few minutes later with a pillow and blanket. All the oncology rooms have recliners like in the chemo area so Lucas settles in for the night with his book. He doses off not knowing around what time.

"Lucas" Peyton whispers

He is so sensitive to her voice now he wakes up right away. He gets up and walks towards the bed.

"What's wrong honey?" He asks

She smiles at him "You're going to laugh but I'm hungry"

"You are?"

"Yes" Peyton smiles

"Ok" he says "How else are you feeling?"

"Hot" Peyton sighs

"That's good" Lucas says "I'm going to go get Betty"

He looks at the clock on the wall "It's 3 am so I'll have to see what we can do about food"

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling at him

Lucas walks to the nurses' station.

"Everything, ok?" Betty asks looking up

"Yes" Lucas says "Peyton's awake and she's hungry and hot"

"Those are all good signs" Betty says getting up "We'll check her temperature and I'll get her whatever she wants to eat"

"Sounds great"

Betty and Lucas walk into the room and Peyton is sitting up.

"How are you feeling?" Betty asks

"I'm hot and I'm hungry" Peyton says smiling

"Good" Betty smiles "Maybe we have your blood count up and your fever down"

"I hope so"

Betty walks over and takes the electric blanket off of Peyton and then sticks the thermometer under her tongue. It beeps and Betty looks at it.

"99.1" She says smiling "We're getting closer"

"Good" Peyton smiles

"What would you like to eat?"

"Ice cream" Peyton says smiling

"What kinds of ice cream?"

"Chocolate moose tracks"

"Sure thing" Betty says smiling and walking out of the room

After about 15 minutes Betty returns with Peyton's ice cream.

"Here you go"

"Thanks" Peyton smiles

"You're welcome" Betty says walking out of the room

"Do you want some ice cream too?" Peyton asks

"I probably shouldn't eat out of your carton"

"You can scoop some out"

"Ok" Lucas says smiling

He grabs a cup and scoops some of the ice cream into it. Peyton takes a bite.

"Mmmm" she says

"It tastes good?" Lucas asks

"Yea" Peyton says smiling

The two sit and eat their ice cream together. Then Peyton looks at him.

"Will you come sleep with me?" Peyton asks

"Sure, baby" Lucas says crawling into bed next to Peyton.

She snuggles into him and falls back to sleep. Lucas sighs. Maybe just maybe they are on their way to recovery because this is the best he's seen Peyton since this all started. She looks good and is eating on her own. He hopes they are looking at recovery and the ability to put this all behind them. He just hopes the next round of chemo doesn't put them back here…

AN: I'm probably going to warp this story up in the next chapter or the chapter after that. I'm not sure. There isn't much more to write about… More chemo more visits to the hospital… We'll see how I feel…

I hope I've conveyed the story well… I know with my dad it was a ton of hospital visits and chemo and then finally watching him die in the living room…

I don't know for sure… I'm having a hard time writing this right now so we'll see what happens… bare with me… Thanks for reading my story and reviewing it…


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The next several months went on the same way, Sunday through Friday chemo and then radiation on Saturday. Three weeks on one week off. Peyton was weak, sick and just plan miserable. After six months of this she went for her next round of scans.

The scans showed no signs of cancer. Dr. Jenkins was thrilled and so were Lucas and Peyton. She went on a maintenance chemo treatment plan. She had chemo once a week every week. She did this for 3 months. She had another round of scans and was still cancer free. Joy wasn't even close to describing how everyone was feeling.

Since both treatment plans were successful they started the last maintenance plan. Peyton had chemo once a month. Her hair was slowly starting to grow back. It was itchy and fuzzy and the kids like to rub it. She was also starting to think about having the reconstructive surgery.

3 more months of the final treatment plan and it was time for scans again. This made it a full year since Peyton was diagnosed. She was feeling great. She had her energy back and she was able to do things again with her family. She had sent everyone home and was back into her normal routine.

"Morning mommy" Sawyer says bouncing into the kitchen with a huge smile on her face

"Good morning, baby girl" Peyton says putting hr breakfast on the bar "How are you this morning?"

"Good" Sawyer says "Are you still going to be able to go on the field trip with me on Friday?"

"Of course" Peyton says smiling "I can't wait to go to the museum"

"Me either! It should be so much fun"

"I know"

Sawyer looks down "Scans today, right?"

"Yep" Peyton says "But I'm not worried, sweetie" she adds winking at her

"Ok" Sawyer says "Will you pick me up from school today?"

"Of course" Peyton says

Ellie walks into the kitchen with a smile on her face

"Good morning mommy" She says with a smile on her face "I hope you made pancakes this morning"

Peyton laughs at her middle child "How did you know?" she asks

"Well I could smell them and I can see them"

Peyton laughs again putting a plate in front of Ellie "What would you guys like for lunch today?"

"I want a peanut butter and jelly" Ellie says

"Ok" Peyton says looking at Sawyer "And you m'am?"

"I don't know" Sawyer says "How about bologna?"

Peyton gives Sawyer a funny look "Are you serious?"

"Yea" Sawyer says "I like bologna"

"Ok" Peyton replies walking over to the fridge getting the stuff she needed to make the girls' lunches. She makes sandwiches and uses heart shaped cookie cutters to cut the sandwiches. She then puts homemade cookies, apple slices, chips and a juice box in each lunch.

"We have to go" Sawyer says looking at the clock

"Ok" Peyton says smiling closing their lunch boxes. "Here's your lunches"

"thanks mommy" Ellie says hugging her

"You're welcome pumpkin" Peyton replies kissing her daughter's forehead "There's a note in your backpack I'm picking you up after school"

"Yea!" Ellie yells causing Peyton to laugh

Sawyer walks over and hugs Peyton "See you after school"

"Sure will" Peyton says "I love you too"

"Love you too" both girls say walking out and Peyton walks over to the window and stands there until the bus pulls up in front and the girls get on.

Peyton turns and walks into the kitchen. She cleans up from breakfast and starts her daily routine. After about 20 minutes, Emery comes running down the stairs.

"Mommy!" he says jumping into her arms

"Hey baby boy" She says swinging him around "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Can we go get doughnuts?"

Peyton smiles "Sure" she says "Go get dressed"

"Ok" Emery says running up the stairs

After a few minutes Emery returns dressed in his jeans and t-shirt. He and Peyton walk out of the house and Peyton puts him into his seat. They drive off towards the coffee shop. They walk in and Peyton orders 2 coffees, milk and some doughnuts. They get back into the car and head towards Tree Hill High. They pull into the parking lot and walk into the school to Lucas' office. Emery knocks on the door.

"Come in" Lucas shouts

Peyton opens the door and she and Emery walk in.

"Hi daddy" he says with a smile on his face

Lucas looks up "What are you guys doing here?"

"We brought doughnuts and coffee" Emery says smiling and walking over to sit at his dad's desk

"You did?" Lucas asks "Aren't you a little too young to drink coffee?"

"Daddy" Emery says laughing "Mommy got me milk"

Lucas smiles at his wife "He couldn't believe that she spent the last year fighting cancer. That she was weak and sick all the time and now she looks amazing. Her hair was short but sexy and she let him talk her into bigger breasts. She told him she wasn't sure she liked them but he could tell she did because she let Brooke dress her is slutty shirts.

"You excited about the first game Friday night?"

"I sure am!" Lucas says getting up and walking over kissing his wife "Last season I was so distracted that I didn't give the guys my all but I'm really ready to go this year"

"Yea, me too" Peyton says smiling "I missed out on so much last year with the kids that I have a lot to make up for. In fact, Friday during the day Sawyer and I are going on a field trip"

"When do I get to start school?" Emery says looking at his mother

"Next week preschool starts buddy"

"Well I can't wait!" He says smiling "Daddy, will you come in and teach the guys how to play basketball at recess?"

Lucas smiles at his son "Of course I will"

Peyton smiles. Her life was back on track and she was extremely happy about it.

"Nathan's coming over to watch Emery so we can go to your appointment" Lucas says

"Sounds good" Peyton says "Maybe I'll get him to take a N-A-P" Peyton says spelling it

"I'm not taking a nap!" Emery says looking at them

Peyton starts laughing "He's a smart one"

"Yes, he is" Lucas smiles

"Well come on, little man" Peyton says "Daddy has some work to do and we have things we need to get done"

"Thanks for the coffee and doughnut" Lucas says kissing Peyton and giving Emery a big hug.

Peyton and Emery left and head home. They play and have lunch. Peyton puts a movie on and just like clockwork Emery falls asleep. Nathan arrives and Peyton heads to her scan. Lucas is waiting for her in the parking lot. He walks over and opens the door for her.

"You nervous?" He asks

"Not really" Peyton says "I've had clear scans every time"

"I know but you've had a lot less chemo this time"

"I know" Peyton sighs "But I have to be cancer free, Luke"

Lucas smiles and they walk into the hospital and into the clinic.

"Hi, Peyton" Lydia says from behind the desk

"Hello" Peyton say smiling

"We're ahead of schedule today so if you're ready we'll take you back for your scan right now"

"Perfect" Peyton says

They all walk down the hallway and Peyton goes to the bathroom because she has to empty her bladder. Then she gets the gown on and gets ready for the PET scan. She lies in the "spaceship" machine and then lies perfectly still while the scan is being performed.

After the scan, Peyton gets dressed and walks out into the lobby. Lottie, who monitors the scans, was standing there.

"Well?" Peyton asks

"You know I can't tell you anything" she says will a smile "I just stand there and make sure we get all the right spots"

"Come on, Lottie" She says with a smile

Lottie just smiles and winks at her.

Peyton smiles.

"Ok, Peyt" Lydia says form behind the desk "We'll see you next Wednesday to go over the results"

"Really?" Peyton says with an unhappy look on her face "You can't get me in Monday?"

"The results may not be back by then"

"You can't rush them?"

Lydia smiles "We'll see you Monday to go over the results"

"Thanks" Peyton says smiling "See you then"

Peyton and Lucas walk out of the office and back to their car. Lucas stops at Peyton's car and looks at her.

"What?" she asks feeling uncomfortable with his gaze

"I'm just looking at my beautiful wife"

Peyton smiles "I'm far from beautiful" she sighs "I have cancer head and radiation welts"

"So what" Lucas smiles "You're beautiful to me"

"You just like the fact that I have big boobs now"

Lucas laughs "We should go away next weekend" Lucas says "The game's home Friday night so we could see if Nathan and Haley will keep the kids and we can go away right after the game and come home Sunday"

Peyton smiles

"Come on" Lucas says "We haven't been away since before you started treatment"

"I know" Peyton sighs "And we haven't had sex…"

Lucas looks at her "I'm well aware of how long it's been"

"I'm sorry" Peyton sighs

"Don't worry about it" Lucas says "You do what you can"

"I'm just not…"

"I know, horny" Lucas says laughing

"It's not that" Peyton sighs with a sad look in her eyes

"What is it honey?" He asks

"I just…" She sighs again "I have scars all over and my Hickman lines hanging out of my chest and my hair is so short and I have blisters all over from radiation." She pauses "It's just hard for me to be naked in front of you"

Lucas looks at Peyton "Honey" he says softly "None of that matters to me. I love you. You're the most beautiful woman in the world and a few scars will never change that"

Peyton sighs "Ok, then" she says will a smile "Let's go away, but only if we get good news"

"Sounds like a plan" Lucas says kissing her "I have to get back to school for practice"

"And I have to go pick up the kids from school"

"I love you" Lucas says kissing her

"I love you too" Peyton says and she gets into her car.

They both drive off towards their destinations.

Peyton is waiting in the carpool lane listening to the radio. Jamie is the first one to get into the car.

"Hey Aunt Peyt" He says with a smile on his face

"Hey buddy" She replies "How was your day?"

"Crappy" Jamie says "I have so much homework it's not even funny"

Peyton smiles "That stinks"

Sawyer and Ellie come walking out. Sawyer is carrying both of their book bags and Peyton smiles. The two girls get into the car.

"How was school?"

"I want to go back to first grade" Ellie sighs "We got to play more and do funnier things"

Peyton laughs "Getting older is hard. What about you, Sawyer?"

"I had a good day" She says smiling "I have a lot of homework"

"I already told her" Jamie sighs

"Did you tell her about the project we have?"

"No" Jamie says

"What project?" Peyton asks pulling away from the school

"We have to do a project on the history of Tree Hill"

Peyton starts laughing "Good luck with that"

"Our teacher gave us each an area of the city to focus on and we have to tell about it" Jamie sighs

"Sounds fun"

"Fourth grade sucks!" Jamie sighs

Peyton laughs "Yea, it does"

They drove to Peyton's house and all got out of the car and went in.

"Can we have a snack?" Ellie asks

"Of course" Peyton says smiling. She walks into the kitchen and the kids follow her. They all sit up at the counter. She gets out three glasses and some plastic plates.

"What do we have today?" Sawyer asks

"Just wait" Peyton says smiling

She walks over to the fridge and gets the milk pouring each of the kids a glass. Then she got out a tray with celery sticks with peanut butter and chocolate chips on them. There were also fruit Kabobs and yogurt dip.

"This looks really yummy" Jamie says "My mom never makes snacks like this"

"Mommy makes stuff like this every day" Ellie says smiling then her face dropped "Except when she was sick. Grandma Anna, Grandma Karen, and Daddy did not make snacks like these. They made horrible snacks if they remember and most days they told us we didn't need snacks we could just wait for dinner"

Peyton starts laughing "Well I'm better now so we'll be having great snacks again"

Nathan walks into the kitchen yawning

"What were you doing?" Peyton asks looking at him

"I fell asleep on the couch. Emery is taking a nap"

"I figured" Peyton answers "Would you like a snack?"

"Sure" Nathan says and Peyton grabs him a plate and gets him a glass of milk.

Everyone sits enjoying their snack and talking when the front door opens.

"Hello" Haley yells from the front hallway

"In the kitchen" Peyton answers getting another plate and glass of milk

"Hey everyone" Haley says kissing Nathan and ruffling Jamie's hair

"Here's some milk and a plate for a snack"

"Thanks" Haley says smiling. She fills her plate and stands at the end of the counter.

"How was your day?" Nathan asks

"Ok" Haley answers "The beginning of the school year is always tough. How'd it go today?" she asks looking at Peyton

"We won't know until Monday"

"I hate that they make you wait!" Haley huffs

"Me too" Peyton answers "We doing pizza and beer after the game on Friday?"

"Of course" Nathan says

"Lucas mentioned you wanted us to keep the kids next weekend"

"Would you mind?" Peyton asks smiling

"No, not at all" Haley smiles "Nathan will be out of town so it will just be me but no problem"

Peyton frowns "That's a lot to take on alone"

"No, not at all" Haley replies "Your kids are easy to handle. They pretty much just take care of themselves and they keep Jamie busy"

"As long as you don't mind"

"I don't"

"Thanks"

"Mommy, can we go play?" Ellie asks

"Do you have any homework?"

Ellie frowns "A little"

Peyton thinks about it for a minute "You can play for an hour then it's homework time"

Ellie's face lights up "Ok, mommy!" she replies with joy "thank you"

The three kids head out of the kitchen and outside to play.

Haley looks at Peyton "How are you feeling?"

"Great" Peyton say smiling

"Oh I'm so glad" Haley sighs "Your hair is growing back nicely"

"It's darker but yeah it's growing" Peyton sighs "It looks a little like Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables."

"I think it's super cute short like that" Haley says smiling

"You're just being nice" Peyton says "I wish it would have grown back like Brooke's did"

"Brooke hasn't been having chemo for a year"

"I know" Peyton sighs "I just feel so unattractive"

"You're beautiful" Nathan says "You always have been and I don't think you look bad with short hair"

Peyton smiles a little "Thanks, Nate"

"You're welcome"

Peyton didn't want to talk about it anymore so she decided to change the subject "You guys want to stay for dinner?"

"Sure" Haley says "I have a bunch of papers to grade so that would be great"

"Get them and take them into Lucas' office."

"Really?" Haley asks

"Yea, you might as well get started"

"I can help with dinner" Haley says

"No, really" Peyton smiles "Go get to work"

"Thanks, Peyt" She says walking out of the kitchen

"What would you like me to do?" Nathan asks

"You can chose" Peyton says smiling "Keep Lucas company when he gets home grilling the burgers or make the sides and help the kids with their homework"

Nathan smiles "Beer and grilling it is"

"That's what I figured" Peyton says laughing

The front door opens and Sawyer walks into the kitchen with blood all over her face

"Oh no what happened?" Peyton says rushing over to her

"Ellie!" She says

"What did Ellie do?" Nathan asks looking at his niece

"We were playing basketball and Jamie and Ellie were guarding me. Ellie charged me and knocked me to the ground. I couldn't catch myself and I hit my face on the driveway"

Nathan was trying to hide his smile that his younger niece had taken out his older niece but Peyton was very sympathetic.

"Let's get you cleaned up" Peyton sighs "And see what the damage is"

"Ok" Sawyer says with tears in her eyes

Peyton and Sawyer went upstairs and into the bathroom. Sawyer sat on the toilet and Peyton got a warm wet wash cloth. She washed Sawyer's face and there were some pretty good scraps on it.

"You have some pretty good battle scraps there on your face" She says and Sawyer frowned at her

"She's such a boy!" Sawyer snaps "I hate playing with her. She acts like Jamie and his friends"

Peyton laughs a little "Oh, it's good for you to play with them"

"Whatever mom" Sawyer says rolling her eyes

Peyton puts some liquid bandage on her face and kisses her nose.

"Go do your homework!" Peyton says patting her on the behind as she walks out of the room

Peyton grabs the towels out of the hamper and walks downstairs. She throws them in the wash machine and heads back into the kitchen. Jamie, Ellie and Sawyer are sitting at the counter doing their homework. Emery was sitting in the living room playing with his Legos.

"Need any help?" Peyton asks

"Not yet but we might" Jamie says

"Well I'm here." She says smiling

"Hello!" Lucas yells walking in

"In the kitchen" Peyton says

Lucas walks in kissing his wife and then all the kids on the forehead.

"Gross, Uncle Lucas" Jamie says and Lucas laughs

"Where's Nathan and Haley?"

"Haley's in your office working on grading papers and I think Nathan went to get some beer"

"I could have picked some up"

"Well we were talking about beer and now he's gone so I'm just assuming"

"Ok" Lucas says smiling kissing Peyton again "I'm going to go change and then I'll get the grill going"

"Sounds great" Peyton says smiling "What would you guys like to go with your burgers?"

"Fries" Ellie says

"That's what I figured" Peyton says smiling. She pulls out a bag of potatoes and her curly fry cutter. She starts cutting fries. Lucas walks back into the kitchen and grabs the plate of patties Peyton had already made.

Nathan walks back into the house as well.

"Where'd you go?" Peyton asks looking at him

"The store" Nathan says smiling "I grabbed some beer, chips and ice cream"

"Well I could have just had Lucas pick it up on his way home"

"I know I just wanted to help out"

Peyton laughs "ok"

The guys grab and beer and head outside. Peyton continues to cut potatoes and help the kids with their homework. Once she has all the potatoes cut she starts frying them. She puts the last batch in and Lucas and Nathan walk in.

"Burgers are finished" Lucas says

"Great" Peyton answers "Can you set the table? And kids go tell Haley dinner's ready and grab Emery to go get washed up"

The kids run out of the room and Nathan and Lucas get everything on the table. Peyton puts the fries out and whips up a salad quickly. When the kids and Haley enter the kitchen everything's ready.

"Kids you can eat at the counter" Peyton says

They enjoy the rest of their evening and Nathan and Haley take off. Lucas and Peyton put the kids together and Lucas goes to work on his writing while Peyton lays on the couch in his office drawing.

The rest of the week went quickly and so did the weekend. Then it was Monday and it was time for Peyton's appointment. She told Lucas he didn't have to go but he insisted so they were now sitting in Dr. Jenkins' office holding hands.

"I have a good feeling about all of this" Lucas smiles

"Me too" Peyton says back

Lydia comes into view "Come on back, you two" she says

Lucas and Peyton walk back into a conference room and wait for Dr. Jenkins. She walks in with a smile on her face.

"Hey Peyton and Lucas" She says sitting across from them

"Hello" Lucas says

"Well" Was all Peyton could answer

Dr. Jenkins smiles "It's clear"

"What?" Peyton asks

"Your PET scan came back negative. There's no sign of cancer. You're in remission"

Peyton just sits there for a minute. Then she looks at Dr. Jenkins "Really?"

"Really, Peyton" she says smiling "You're in remission, you're cancer free"

Peyton didn't know what came over her but she started crying "This is so great"

"Yes, it is" Dr. Jenkins says with a smile "For the next year we'll do scans every 3 months to make sure you stay in remission and then every six months and then once a year."

"Ok" Peyton says through her tears "No more chemo?"

"Nope" Dr. Jenkins answers "No more treatment of any kind"

"So my hair will stop falling out and growing back?"

"Yes"

"And the welts from radiation will finally heal?"

"Yes"

"And I can have the Hickman line out?"

"Yes"

Peyton just smiles "Thank you"

Dr. Jenkins just smiles at her

"When can I have the Hickman line out?"

"This week" Dr. Jenkins says

"Ok"

"I'll have Lydia come in and get it set up"

"Perfect" Peyton answers

"I'll see you in three months then"

"Ok"

Dr. Jenkins walks out of the room and Peyton turns to look at Lucas.

"Did you hear that?"

A huge smile fills Lucas face "Yes, I heard that" He says with tears in his eyes "You're cancer free"

"I'm so happy" she says

"Me too baby" He answers "It's over"

Peyton sighs "For now"

"And now is all we're going to worry about" Lucas says leaning over and kissing her

Lydia walks in "So I hear you want your lines out?" she asks with a smile

"Yes, please" Peyton says

"How about tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds great"

"Ok be here at 8:15"

"Ok, see you then" Peyton says with a smile.

Lucas and Peyton walk out of the office hand in hand.

"Let's celebrate!" Lucas says

"Yes, with all of our friends. Let's go to dinner tonight!"

"I'll call everyone and we'll see if someone can watch all the kids"

"Ok" Peyton says smiling

Lucas picks up his phone and calls Haley while Peyton picks up her phone and calls Brooke. They both have their conversations and wrap them up at the same time.

"Haley and Nathan are in and she said she has a few girls in her classes she'll call to babysit"

"Ok" Peyton says "She's done that before and we've had no problems"

"Yea and I know most of the kids so we'll be fine"

"Brooke and Julian are in too"

"Great!" Lucas says smiling

They drive home and get ready for their night out. Haley had gotten 6 girls to watch the kids. Two for each house and the couples were on their way to dinner at one of the finest restaurants in town. They get there and Lucas orders two bottles of champagne. The waiter brings it out right away and every gets a glass.

"I'd like to start the night by toasting my wife for her strength and all of you for all your help!"

"Cheers" Everyone says with a smile on their faces

"Here's to remission!" Brooke says "The best word I've ever heard!"

"Here Here" Everyone says

"I'm so glad you're going to be ok" Nathan says choking up a little

"Me too" Peyton sighs "And thank you all for all your support"

Everyone nods. The gang orders dinner and then spends their time laughing and talking. After dinner they all head to Tric for a few drinks. There was a huge weight lifted off of all their shoulders and they were celebrating the health of their friend and the fact they could, for now, let go of the fear that she might die…

AN: Ok, gang the next chapter will be it! I think this story has run its course. I have the idea of how I want to end it and that will be the next chapter. Thanks for reading and review and look forward to the end of this story which will be posted soon!


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Peyton was feeling a little nervous. She was going away for the first time with her husband in a year. She felt like a nervous school girl going on her first date. She was also nervous about what was going to happen over the weekend. She stood in her closet looking at all of her outfits. She didn't have anything to wear. She sighs and picks up her phone and makes a phone call. Then she goes and lays on her bed feeling defeated by her closet.

After about 20 minutes her bedroom door flew open and Brooke comes walking in with an armful of clothes.

"Ok, I'm here I'm here, P. Scott!" she says throwing the clothes on the bed

"I'm so ugly" She sighs

"You are not ugly" Brooke says crashing on the bed next to her

"The only assets I have now are these enormous breasts" She says lifting them towards Brooke

Brooke starts laughing "Well they do help!" she says "Peyton, you're a beautiful woman and your husband loves you more than anything in this world. He is crazy about you. He just wants to get his hands on your new tits!"

"Brooke!" Peyton says as her face turns bright red

"When was the last time you two had sex?"

Peyton shakes her head "It's been a really long time. I've been too tired and his sperm makes me nausea so we couldn't even have oral sex"

"That man is a saint!" Brooke says "But he's probably going to blew fast so be ready"

Peyton starts laughing "I'm not sure I even remember what to do"

"It's like riding a bike, honey" Brooke says smiling

"I don't know" Peyton sighs "I feel so unattractive and I just don't know if I can let him see me naked"

"He's your husband and he loves you and no matter what he's always going to love you so you have to stop worrying about it and enjoy your husband"

Peyton nods.

"Well I brought everything sexy I own" Brooke sighs

"Great" Peyton says

"And with those tits…"

"Brooke!" Peyton says

"Go try this stuff on"

After many outfits Brooke helped Peyton pick out a few that would rock Lucas' world but help Peyton feel comfortable in them. Peyton packs them and then sighs.

"What now?" Brooke says sensing something else was wrong

"My hair"

"Honey, there's nothing we can do about that unless you want to wear a wig"

"No" Peyton sighs "I can't stand the wig"

Brooke looks at her for a minute "Come on"

They walk into the bathroom. Brooke grabs some styling products. She puts some hair wax in her fingers and works it with her fingers.

"Sit down" Brooke says

Peyton does and Brooke fluffs, messes and plays with Peyton's hair for a little while. She gets it to not look slicked to her head.

"Well?" Brooke asks

"It looks sexy" Lucas says from the doorway

"Hey" Peyton smiles "What are you doing home?"

"I came to get your bags because you're riding with Haley to the game right?"

"Yep" Peyton says smiling

"I can't wait for our weekend together"

Peyton just smiles

"Are you packed?"

"Yep" Peyton say smiling "My bag is on the bed"

"Perfect. I'll see you at the game"

"Sure will" Peyton answers

Lucas walks over and kisses her.

"Bye baby" She says and Lucas walks out of the bathroom and out of the room.

Brooke looks at Peyton "He's so horny"

"I know" Peyton sighs with a smile

"He's going to rock your world tonight"

"I just hope I can rock his"

"Seriously, Peyt, you're not 15 and it's not your first time. Everything will be fine"

"I was 14 remember and you told me it wouldn't hurt and that it would be wonderful"

Brooke laughs "I lied but you got it over with and then it was great after that right?"

Peyton smiles "Yea it was" she replies "But don't ever tell my daughters I was 14!"

"Mine either!" Brooke says smiling

"Better yet they're not allow out of the house until they 18"

Brooke shakes her head "You were married then"

"I know" Peyton sighs "But we're different than our kids"

"We sure are" Brooke says "Do you regret getting married?"

"Absolutely not" Peyton says smiling

"That's what I thought" Brooke smiles back "I'm going to head home but I'll see you at the game"

"Sounds great"

Peyton spends the rest of the afternoon packing up the kids and getting ready for the game. She put on the low cut blouse Brooke had brought over and the tightest pair of jeans she owned. She then put on her high heel boots and lightly dusts her face with make-up.

"Peyton" Haley yells from downstairs

She takes one last look at herself and walks down to meet her friend.

"Wow!" Haley says smiling "You look amazing"

"Thanks" Peyton sighs

"Are you ready to head to the game?"

"Yep" Peyton says

Peyton goes to grab the kids bags and Haley stops her.

"I was thinking on the way over here it makes more sense for Jamie and I to stay here"

"Are you sure?" Peyton asks "I don't want to put you out"

"No, really it will be easier because all your kids have their stuff here and Jamie can just sleep in the guest room"

"Ok" Peyton says putting the bags down "Thanks"

"No problem" Haley says smiling

"Come on, kids" Peyton yells and all the kids come running.

They all load into the car and head to Tree Hill High. The gym is packed and everyone is talking excitedly. The boys were warming up and Lucas and Skillz were talking to each other. Lucas also of a sudden catch a glimpse of Peyton and a huge smile fills his face. Skillz notices.

"What are you lookin at man?" he asks

"My wife" Lucas replies

Skillz scans the crowd and finds her.

"Holy shit, dog!" Skillz says "She looks hot!"

"Yes, she does" Lucas says smiling "And she all mine"

Skillz smiles at his comments. Peyton waves at Lucas and he waves back.

"He's so going to have a boner if he keeps looking at you" Brooke says laughing

"Brooke!" Peyton yells

"What's a boner?" Sawyer asks

"Nothing!" Julian says looking at Brooke "Don't talk like that around the kids they're getting older to understand things now"

"Ok, dad" Brooke says rolling her eyes

Peyton laughs. The game starts and the kids play hard. Half time comes and goes and then the game ends. Ravens win 88 to 68. Lucas was flying high.

"Hey baby" he says walking out picking Peyton up and spinning her around. "Where'd everyone go?"

"They went to have pizza at our place"

"How come they didn't wait?"

"They wanted us to get a start on our weekend"

Lucas leans in and kisses her passionately "Then let's get out of here"

"Sounds great!" Peyton says

Lucas grabs her hand and they walk out of the gym. They get into the car and head towards the bed and breakfast they were staying at for the weekend. Lucas carries the bags to their room and orders a pizza. He then runs to the store down the road to get some beer. He returns and Peyton is sitting on the couch in their room. He walks over and hands her a beer sitting down next to her.

"You look amazing" He says leaning over and kissing her

"It's just my enormous breasts" Peyton says looking at him

"No it's not" Lucas sighs "But I'm not going to lie I'm looking forward to playing with them"

Peyton smiles. Lucas leans over and kisses her. Peyton kisses him back tentatively.

"Hey" he says pulling away "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" She answers taking a sip of her beer

"You're being stand offish" he says sighing

"No, I'm not" Peyton answers

"Baby" He says "There's nothing to be worried about. I love you and I just want to show you how much I love you"

Peyton sighs "Ok" she smiles and kisses him.

There's a knock at their door.

Lucas gets up and opens it. It's their pizza. He pays for it and walks back into the room.

"Smells wonderful" Peyton says

Lucas laughs a little "I'm glad food is starting to appeal to you again"

"Me too" Peyton says "But there are some things I don't think I'll ever be able to eat again"

Lucas nods. Peyton walks into the kitchenette and grabs some plates, forks and napkins. She returns and sits on the floor next to Lucas. The two eat dinner talking about the game and the kids. After dinner, the two cleaned up and settled on the couch. Lucas could tell Peyton was so nervous and he feels so bad for making her feel this way.

"You know there's no pressure tonight, honey"

Peyton laughs a little

"No, seriously"

Peyton looks at him "Luke, we haven't had sex in a year!"

"Peyton, I know" He says

Then she looks at him funny "You're not…"

"Peyton Elizabeth Scott!" he yells at her "Don't you dare finish that thought! I'd never!"

She smiles at him "I know" she sighs "I'm sorry"

"Don't be" Lucas smiles getting up and walking over to his bag. He takes something out and hands it to her. "I'm going to take a shower baby." She says kissing her "Read this while I'm in there"

"Ok" Peyton says

Lucas kissing her again and walks into the bathroom. Peyton turns the first page of the book. She looks at the dedication.

_To the woman who does everything she can to make sure our kids are taken care of, for the woman who works from the moment she gets up until the moment she goes to be to make sure our house is a home and everything is in order, to the woman who makes sure food is on the table every night and the homework is always done, to the woman who fought breast cancer every day for a year of her life, who sets an example for other women. To the woman who didn't let cancer define who she was but who defined herself. To the woman I am honored to be a part of her beautiful and powerful life. To the strongest woman, to my wife ,the survivor , I love you and I'm always here to support you… To my one and only, Peyton Elizabeth Scott… _

Peyton already had tears in her eyes just from the dedication. She turns the page and looks at the title page.

_Loving you Through It_

_By: Lucas Scott_

Peyton smiles. She turns the page and slowly starts reading it. She gets through the first chapter when the bathroom door opens and Lucas is standing there with a towel warp around his waist.

"Well?" He asks

"I read the first chapter" She says looking up at him

"And?"

"Lucas" she says

He walks over and sits next to her.

"It's a Nicholas Sparks book. It's going to be like The Notebook or The Lucky One"

Lucas starts laughing "Yes, it's more of a romance novel than what I usually write. It's about a husband who's wife had breast cancer and he loves her through it"

Peyton leans over and kisses him "So far, it's wonderful"

Lucas kisses her again "Thanks"

"I want to read all of it"

"Ok" He says going to get up

Peyton grabs his arm "Not now" she says seductively

Lucas looks at her "Really?" he says smiling with excitement

Peyton smiles at him "Really" she says "Can we turn the lights off?"

"No" Lucas says "I want to make love to my perfect wife while I look at every inch of her body"

Peyton sighs "Ok" she says softly "Can I take a quick shower first?"

"Of course" Lucas says smiling at her

Peyton walks into the bathroom and Lucas puts on his pajama bottoms. He lights a fire in the fireplace and turns the lights down. He then settles in on the bed. He checks his phone and plays a quick game of online basketball.

After some time the bathroom door opens and Lucas looks up. Peyton is standing there in a sexy little black nightie. It's cut down low and her new breasts are filling it out nicely. She stands there and Lucas looks up and down her body.

"Hi" He says smiling at her. He's cock was already starting to harden just looking at her

"Hi" She whispers softly

"Come here" He says softly

Peyton walks over on her tippy toes and climbs onto the bed.

"I like your nightie" He says softly

"Thanks" Peyton says playing with the little bite of hair she has

"You look beautiful"

Peyton just sighs.

Lucas leans over and kisses her softly. She kisses him back. He moves down and kisses her collarbone and she moans which causes Lucas to grow. Peyton can feel him through his pajama bottoms. He picks her up and moves her onto the bed so she's laying in the middle. He reaches down to take her nightie off. She reaches down and stops him.

"Peyt" he whispers "you're beautiful and nothing's going to change my opinion about that"

She just takes her hand off his. He lifts the nightie off her and stares at her naked body. He then lowers his mouth and kisses where her Hickman line was. Then he kisses across the scars from her reconstructive surgery and the welts from radiation. He kisses every spot on her body affected by the cancer. She moans with every touch.

He then looks at her breasts. He so wants to have the opportunity to play with them but he doesn't want to be insensitive.

Peyton notices where his eyes are and she smiles.

"You paid for them you should get to play with them"

He laughs a little "I don't want to be insensitive"

"You're not" She smiles "But you know it won't be the same"

Lucas looks at her

"I don't have the same sensation I used to"

"Oh" Lucas sighs

"You can still play with them"

"Maybe later" he says

He continues to kiss down her body. He runs his fingers up and down her lips and spreads them slowly. He's met with her wetness and he smiles. He runs his finger over her most sensitive area and she moans.

"Baby, I'm more than ready" she says

His area was bulging in pain and he could use some release. He kisses her again and then positions himself to enter her. The two engage in the most passionate sex they've ever had coming to an end together in their sweet release.

Lucas crashes down on the bed next to her and she rests her head on his chest. He runs his hand up and down her arm.

"That was amazing" he whispers

"I'm sorry you had to wait so long"

"Don't be sorry" Lucas says kissing her head "You are always worth the wait"

Peyton kisses his chest.

"And I'm hoping I won't have to wait as long, though"

Peyton smiles "Would you like to go at it again right now?"

Lucas sighs "Maybe in a few minutes" he smiles "I just want to hold you right now"

"Ok" Peyton says then she sits up on her elbows and looks in his eyes

"Are you ok, baby?"

"I'm better than ok" she says kissing him "I just want to thank you for loving me through it"

With that the two begin to kiss again and working each other up to enjoy each other for the rest of their weekend and the rest of their lives together…

AN: Thank you for reading…. That's the end… I hope you enjoyed it!


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